Served Under General Lafayette — Joshua Kittredge

B. 15 Mar 1761 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts
M. (1) 29 Nov 1787 in Amherst, New Hampshire
Wife: Lydia Kittredge
M. (2) 10 Jun 1796 in Packersfield, New Hampshire
Wife: Beulah Baker
D. 18 Feb 1834 in Nelson, New Hampshire

Joshua Kittredge served as a soldier during the American Revolution, enlisting three times before he reached the age of 20. He was born March 15, 1761 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts to Thomas Kittredge and Anna Thorndike. He was probably named for his brother Joshua who died a couple years before he was born and his uncle Joshua who died in 1756 in the French and Indian War. Joshua also had an older sister, and the family grew to have four more children.

Joshua's father served in the American Revolution, and Joshua was just old enough to become a soldier himself. He first joined up in Tewksbury on April 2, 1778; that year, Joshua served in Captain John Moore’s Company of Colonel Jonathan Brewer’s Regiment of guards, and spent three months guarding Burgoyne’s troops at Cambridge. His second enlistment on October 7, 1779 was also from Tewksbury, and he served under Captain Joshua Leland at Cobble Hill for one month garrisoning a fort.

The following year, Joshua moved to Amherst, New Hampshire, living with his father’s cousin Solomon Kittredge. There he joined up a third time at Lyndeborough, New Hampshire in May of 1780. From there, his unit traveled by foot to West Point, New York, and later noted that he was there “the same year Arnold escaped.” He was selected for the light infantry under General Lafayette, and marched all the way to Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Joshua was discharged in November 1780.

About 1785, Joshua settled in the town of Packersfield, New Hampshire (the town was renamed Nelson in honor of Lord Nelson in 1814). He purchased a large tract of land, and built a small house and sawmill; using the lumber from his sawmill, he built a much larger house in 1797. The location of his land was later known as "Ruffle Hill." Joshua's house was passed down in the family until 1877, and it's still standing today. Joshua used his sawmill as a lumber business, but was also a farmer.

Joshua Kittredge's house in Nelson, New Hampshire during the 1940s.

Joshua married Solomon Kittredge's daughter Lydia on November 29, 1787 in Amherst, New Hampshire. They had three daughters, but sadly, she died. He married as his second wife Beulah Baker on June 10, 1796, and they had eight children. Joshua's youngest daughter Emily was born when he was in his 50s, and a stitched sampler she made at age 11 is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

1826 Emily Kittredge sampler. (Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

There was a story about Joshua and his first wife written in A History of Nelson, New Hampshire, 1767-1967 by Parke Hardy Struthers: "It was the custom of Joshua to read the bible as Lydia, his wife, cooked the breakfast bannocks [quick bread] on the open fire. One morning he read [out loud], 'And Moses said unto the Children of Israel — Mrs. Kittredge the bannocks are burning!’”

Joshua lived long enough to receive a military pension for his service during the Revolution. On August 16, 1832, at the age of 73, he stood before the court in Nelson to testify about his experiences in the war. That generation was dying off; in fact there was nobody still alive who could verify his service, so those who appeared for him spoke of his character. Joshua's pension was approved, but he passed away just a year and a half later on February 18, 1834. He was buried alongside his wife Beulah in the cemetery in the Old Town Common of Nelson.

Joshua's 1832 declaration of his service in the American Revolution.

Among Joshua's descendants was his great-grandson, Alfred Beard Kittredge (1861-1911), who served as a senator from South Dakota in the years 1901 to 1909. Another great-grandson was George Lyman Kittredge (1860-1941), a noted professor of English literature at Harvard and an author of many books. 

Children by Lydia Kittredge:
1. Lydia Kittredge – B. 3 Jul 1789, Packersfield, New Hampshire

2. Betsy Kittredge – B. 16 Jul 1791, Packersfield, New Hampshire

3. Lucy Kittredge – B. 25 Feb 1793, Packersfield, New Hampshire; D. before 1880; M. Micaiah Moores (~1794-?), 23 Oct 1816, Nelson, New Hampshire

Children by Beulah Baker:
1. Charlotte Kittredge – B. 12 Jul 1797, Packersfield, New Hampshire; D. 23 Dec 1865, Nelson, New Hampshire; M. Oliver Stone (1786-1841), 5 Mar 1817, Nelson, New Hampshire

2. Abel Kittredge – B. 14 Nov 1798, Packersfield, New Hampshire; D. 13 Sep 1882, Boston, Massachusetts; M. (1) Sophia Lyman (1800-1838), 28 Jan 1824, Nelson, New Hampshire; (2) Anne Marie Lyman (1806-1879), 29 Nov 1838, Nelson, New Hampshire

3. Herbert William Kittredge – B. 1 Apr 1800, Packersfield, New Hampshire; D. 4 Feb 1855, Nelson, New Hampshire; M. Sally Livermore (1807-1878), 20 Feb 1828

4. Joshua Kittredge – B. 1 Apr 1803, Packersfield, New Hampshire; M. Emeline Chapman (~1802-?), 27 Nov 1823, Nelson, New Hampshire

5. Nancy Kittredge – B. 14 Jan 1805, Packersfield, New Hampshire

6. Stephen Kittredge – B. 22 Feb 1807, Packersfield, New Hampshire; D. 30 Oct 1839; M. Harriet Tidd (1810-1901), 1 Feb 1831

7. Mary Kittredge – B. 19 Jan 1812, Packersfield, New Hampshire; D. 18 May 1883, Nelson, New Hampshire; M. (1) Daniel Livermore (1809-bef 1837), 1 May 1834, Nelson, New Hampshire; (2) Willard Jewett (1805-1889), 13 Jun 1837, Nelson, New Hampshire

8. Emily Kittredge – B. 2 Feb 1815, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 31 Jul 1905, Saxons River, Vermont; M. John H. Ramsey (1815-?), 19 Nov 1839, New Hampshire

Sources:
The Kittredge Family in America, Mabel T. Kittredge, 1936
A History of Nelson, New Hampshire, 1767-1967, Parke Hardy Struthers
Military pension file of Joshua Kittredge, 16 Aug 1832
1880 U.S. Census in Maine
New Hampshire marriages, 1720-1920
New Hampshire birth records, early to 1900
Death certificate of Abel Kittredge, 13 Sep 1882, Boston, Massachusetts
New Hampshire death records, 1654-1947
1850 U.S. Census in New Hampshire
Vermont vital records, 1760-1954