Kittelle was born in Peekskill, New York. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1889. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his service during World War I, as commander of the battleship Georgia of the Atlantic Fleet.[1] He was promoted to rear admiral in 1921 and made Governor of the Virgin Islands, a position he held only until 1922. Almost immediately on becoming governor, he sacked the civilian colonial assembly. In 1927, while a commandant of the 16th Naval District, he exposed a plot by "communists" to destroy a shipyard at Cavite. He retired in 1931.
In 1946, Kittelle wrote The Ketel family,: Also (Ketele, Kettele, Kettel, Kittelle and Kittle), a history of his family tree.