Mr. Kitten was born in Prussia in 1840, the son of a wooden shoemaker. He moved to a farming area new Ferdinand, IN with his family at the young age of 10. He helped his father on the farm until he was 19 at which point he worked as a carpenter for the following six years.

Joseph Kitten was the founder of the Ferdinand Iron Works of Ferdinand, Indiana. When orders for Kitten threshers and steam traction engines began to overcrowd the second floor of the homestead, Kitten constructed a two-story factory on the property adjoining his home.

Mr. Kitten started building engines around 1880. He first used an upright boiler, but then went to the marine type boiler which was horse drawn. The first steam traction engines were of high road speed, and would do about 6 to 7 mph when wide open. There were 246 of these later type steam traction engines built. The last engine was built in 1940 and sold to Mr. Kueken in June 1942 for $2,550. It was a 25hp engine and used in his sawmill.

The Kitten factory also manufactured complete sawmill outfits and separators. The separators were all wood, 36in. cylinder, and 60in. separator belt driven blower. The separators sold for $1,800 complete with Ruth feeder and Hart weighter.

Mr. Kitten died around 1920.

Information Sources:

• Norbeck, Jack, Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines, Crestline Publishing Inc, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Pg. 161
• Steam Power on the American Farm by Reynold M. Wik, 1953 page 254
• The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia by John F. Spalding & Robert T. Rhode, 2011 page 234