Born the eldest child of famed author Rudyard Kipling and his American wife, Carrie Balestier at the family home, Bliss Cottage, near Brattleboro, Vermont. Between her birth and that of her sister, Elsie, in 1896 was one of their father's most prolific periods during which he produced some his most famous novels. During a family visit to New York in 1899, Kipling, Josephine, and Elsie fell ill, and as both father and daughters' illness advanced to pneumonia, Josephine was removed from the hotel where her father and sister were and accommodated in the home of family friend, Julie De Forest, where her condition rapidly worsened. The family physician was summoned from Vermont to take charge of Josephine. He ministered to her for almost two weeks before she succumbed to the illness. Her father was not told of her passing for weeks due to fears the loss of his beloved child might cause a relapse. Kipling's friends and family claimed that he was never the same after Josie's death that in some basic way he had altered. Elsie's later memoir claimed, "There is no doubt that little Josephine had been his greatest joy during her short life. His life was never the same after her death; a light had gone out that could never be rekindled."
Born the eldest child of famed author Rudyard Kipling and his American wife, Carrie Balestier at the family home, Bliss Cottage, near Brattleboro, Vermont. Between her birth and that of her sister, Elsie, in 1896 was one of their father's most prolific periods during which he produced some his most famous novels. During a family visit to New York in 1899, Kipling, Josephine, and Elsie fell ill, and as both father and daughters' illness advanced to pneumonia, Josephine was removed from the hotel where her father and sister were and accommodated in the home of family friend, Julie De Forest, where her condition rapidly worsened. The family physician was summoned from Vermont to take charge of Josephine. He ministered to her for almost two weeks before she succumbed to the illness. Her father was not told of her passing for weeks due to fears the loss of his beloved child might cause a relapse. Kipling's friends and family claimed that he was never the same after Josie's death that in some basic way he had altered. Elsie's later memoir claimed, "There is no doubt that little Josephine had been his greatest joy during her short life. His life was never the same after her death; a light had gone out that could never be rekindled."
Family Members
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
