Caroline Starr Balestier Kipling

Caroline Starr Balestier Kipling (December 31, 1862 – December 19, 1939), also known as Carrie, was the American-born wife of Rudyard Kipling and the custodian of his literary legacy after his death in 1936.

Family Balestier was born in Rochester, New York, to a prominent local family with a reputation for being unconventional. Her paternal grandfather, whose French ancestors were from Martinique, was a founder of the Century Association; her maternal grandfather was E. Peshine Smith, who with Commodore Perry completed commercial negotiations with Japan.

Marriage Balestier met Kipling via her brother Wolcott Balestier who had co-authored The Naulahka: A Story of West and East with Kipling. Balestier had come to London to keep house for her brother and serve as hostess for him. The couple were married in London on January 18, 1892. The bride was given away by Henry James who exclaimed "It’s a union of which I don’t forecast the future."

The Kiplings had planned a round-the-world trip for their honeymoon but Kipling's bank failed, causing them to relocate to Balestier's family residence in Brattleboro, Vermont. Bateman's was Carrie Kipling's home from 1902 until her death in 1939.