For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead

by Oriole A. Vane Veldhuis

From the Fly Leaf
History, and our interpretation of it, is constantly changing. In For Elise, the established story of one pioneering family's battle to survive has been reviewed from the perspective of a rarely considered woman. Previously, the diaries of Percy Criddle had to be taken at face value. Now, using those self-same diaries written by her great-grandfather, plus a variety of other contemporary sources, Oriole has given us the tale from the point of view of Elise, her neglected great-grandmother, who contributed so much to the success of the family’s venture. The resulting portrayal of the hardships endured by the Criddle/Vane family explains so many previously unanswered questions, and indicated the basis on which their eventual success was founded.
Written by
Loraine Hake
Hon. Secretary, Alabaster Society

Genres: Nonfiction

494 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Wendy Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent read.

Elsie was a close neighbor and friend to my Ancestors. I can assure you that the pains taking details that Oriole writes in this book are very actuate. Not only does Oriole provide a voice for Elsie, she provides many factual based accounts of what our Ancestors were faced with when they came to Manitoba and homesteaded.

Elsie was a trusting woman who did what she needed to and believed in, she provided for her family. Given the time period "Victorian" to "Edwardian" - women really did not have a voice.

I have admiration, respect, for what she did. I felt the sorrow for her on many levels, most importantly the single word for Elsie is : Benevolence

A must read for anyone interested in Early Canadian History - Thank you Oriole - my family stories and what was in this book is like holding hands - and to find out that we have a distant family connection via the Clarks'

Enjoy to all of you :)

[Sheri Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a love story gone wrong. Elise is courted by a seemingly sincere and loving man but one reason after another delays their wedding day. In the mean time, Elise gives birth to five children by him in the late 19th century at a time when women had no voice. He takes her and the children to Canada with him to act as servants, something Elise realizes when, while waiting to board the ship, she meets the woman her lover has recently married. This true account of Elise Vane is well-researched and accurately told. The hardship of new immegrants to an undeveloped country in the 19th century adds to the misery Elise must deal with. The cold and starvation are difficult for the modern reader to comprehend these days as well as the role of women and how strong they must become to survive emotional abuse from an arrogant and controling man.

[Kathy Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of lies, wasted dreams and survival on the harsh Manitoba prairies.

This was frustrating, as a reader because even though you have an inkling how her story turns out, you keep wishing that Elise will somehow break free and be able to live out her own dreams. Of course, that did not happen and it was Elise's fate to quietly yield to the will of Percy Criddle and spend decades of her life as his unappreciated slave.

Imagine her surprise when, about to board ship at Liverpool to sail to Canada with her fiance and their four children, he tells the family that he is "Papa" no more and will be addressed as "Mr. Criddle" because he has another (legitimate) family who are also making the trip. Every part of me silently screamed "No! Turn around and go back! Do not get on that ship!" yet, amazingly, Elise agreed to Percy Criddle's plan and went ahead to live with him and his family as pioneer farmers in a strange land.

One fact that comes out of this lengthy story is that Percy Criddle was a bully who controlled the lives of everyone on his homestead. Even though he had formerly professed to love Elise and their children, once in Canada, he invented demeaning nicknames for them and used them all as unpaid labour. Even when the children grew into adults, every one of them worried about getting his approval for their own life choices. He seems to have been the supervisor on his farm, rarely doing any of the heavy work, instead focusing on his personal interests (music, tennis, card games and politics) while everyone else strained themselves trying to make a go of his farm.

Looking at her story with 21st century eyes, it is hard to understand how she forgot about her own training and talents to succumb to this life of servitude, never speaking out to defend herself. She lived the last twenty-two years of her life working long hours on an insufficient diet, eventually dying at age sixty-three, a broken woman. Had she refused to go to Canada, her life as a single mother would not have been easy, but surely would have been easier than the one she ended up having.

[Dorothy Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells of an English and German family that immigrates to Manitoba in Canada around 1882, their struggles to settle on a farm, and be successful. I couldn’t help but feel outraged at how Elise was treated by Percy. As a matter of fact I wanted to strangle him at times! A lot of research went into the writing of this family’s history and it is tough sledding at times. It paints a good picture of the struggles of farmers on the prairies and what people did to survive. I couldn’t help but think of ‘’Für Elise’’ written by Beethoven when I read the title of this book and I wasn’t disappointed. For Elise is a very appropriate title for this book. Thank you to the author for searching out Elise’s story.

[Janet Hamm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating situation; truth is stranger than fiction. The print is small and the extensive footnotes are smaller; also I was a little uneasy about the author reporting Elise's thoughts, as this happened so long ago. Criddle's speech patterns also bothered me. However, it is a tragic story and it's good that it was told.

[Janice Kroeker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing story but needed editing. Way to much unnecessary information.

[Matt Wiebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://mattcanada.wordpress.com/2020...

[Mike Brubaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Elise is a difficult book to contemplate. We have a story of a woman, a German immigrant to England, Elise Harrer. She immigrates to London on the promise of marriage to a very charming man, Percy Criddle. The marriage never takes place, yet she lives as his mistress and bears six children, five survive to adulthood.
Percy Criddle has dreams of becoming a landowning member of the Gentleman class. It is never explained in the book, but we eventually understand he cannot achieve this status and be married to a “foreign” immigrant. He takes as a wife Alice Criddle. She bears nine children, all survive to adulthood.
To further complicate this story, in order to obtain large tracts of land, Percy moves his large, “two wife” family to Canada in 1880. Using his children and his mistress, essentially, as slave labor he attempts to build a large farm. He manages to own land and raise enough crops, mostly potatoes, to survive. Yet, he never attains the status of wealthy land owner.
Now, to write that Percy Criddle builds a farm is to give the man too much credit. He has very limited experience and knowledge in farming. He is also quite lazy. He often starts a project and leaves his children to complete.
This is a difficult book for a number of reasons. Elise seems to accept her lot as the mistress/nanny/servant of the household. Over time she obtains title to land of her own, yet she never exercises any independence to strike out and live with her own family. Her children show a bit more independence, only after her death do they separate themselves from the emotionally abusive household of Percy Criddle. In addition, their ancestry is contested. Over time, the families suggest the children of Elise are orphans of an un-named dead soldier. They have been given the last name of Vane. Up to the date of publication, there is debate in the family as to whether or not Percy Criddle is the father of the children of Elise.
There are no real heroes in this story. There is never an opportunity to cheer for the life choices or behavior of anyone in this text.
In the end, I was also wondering about the life and thoughts of Alice Criddle. What emotions did this woman feel when she had to share a household with the mistress of her husband? Alice gave birth to four of her nine children in the cabin in Canada. Did Percy ever stray and find his way back in the bed of Elise? Was jealousy ever an issue or concern in this household? These are just a few of the questions I have after the end of this book.
I repeat myself, this is a difficult book to contemplate. This is an absolutely fascinating story and well worth the time to read (all 498 pages). But, the answers to so many questions remain unresolved. In addition, there are not many likeable characters in this story.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too depressing and although heartbreaking ....found the book a little unbelievable for a true account. Even considering the era , I found myself feeling there is still much more that has NOT been told. Left me feeling empty.