William Cullen Kittredge (February 23, 1800 – June 11, 1869) was a Vermont lawyer and politician. He served as 18th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1852 to 1853.
Early life William Cullen Kittredge was born in Dalton, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1800, the son of Dr. Abel Kittredge and Eunice (Chamberlain) Kittredge. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College in 1821, received a master's degree from Williams in 1824, studied law with E. H. Mills and Lewis Strong of Northampton, and was admitted to the bar. He practiced in Kentucky and Ohio before settling in Fair Haven, Vermont, in 1824.Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, edited by Rollin Hillyer Cooke, Volume 2, 1906, page 340General Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Williams College, published by the college, 1905, page 42Phi Beta Kappa, Gamma of Massachusetts, published by Williams College, 1887, page 12History of Rutland County, Vermont, Part 1, by Henry Perry Smith and William S. Rann, 1886, page 279
Business and political career In addition to practicing law, Kittredge was involved in several business ventures, including serving as the first President of National Life Insurance Company and owning a partnership in a successful marble company.National Life Insurance Company: A History of its Foundation and Development, 1850-1925, National Life Insurance Company, 1925, page 30
Kittredge served for eight years in the Vermont House of Representatives, including two as Speaker.Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 3, 1921, page 370 He also served in the Vermont Senate and as Rutland County State's Attorney and Assistant Judge and Judge of the County Court.Journal of the House of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1848, page 265 Kittredge was the successful Whig nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1852 and served from 1852 to 1853., by Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011, page 8Journal of the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1832, page 92Williams Biographical Annals, by Rev. Calvin Durfee, 1871, page 403Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by William Thomas Davis, Volume 2, 1895, page 298
Death After leaving office Kittredge continued to practice law in Fair Haven. He became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid 1850s. Kittredge died in Rutland, Vermont, on June 11, 1869, while en route to Bennington to assume the post of U.S. Internal Revenue Assessor.A History of the Town of Fair Haven, Vermont: In Three Parts, by Andrew Napoleon Adams, 1870, page 219Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont, compiled by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, page 183 He was buried at West Street Cemetery in Fair Haven.Vermont Old Cemetery Association
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