Joseph Duggar

Joe in September 2021

### Appeared on

14 Children and Pregnant Again!, Raising 16 Children, 16 Children and Moving In, On the Road with 16 Children, Duggars' Big Family Album, 19 Kids and Counting, Counting On, United Bates of America

## Family Info

### Siblings

Josh Duggar, Jana Duggar, John Duggar, Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo, Josiah Duggar, Joy Forsyth, Jedidiah Duggar, Jeremiah Duggar, Jason Duggar, James Duggar, Justin Duggar, Jackson Duggar, Johannah Duggar, Jennifer Duggar, Jordyn Duggar, Josie Duggar

### Children

Garrett Duggar, Addison Duggar, Brooklyn Duggar, Justus Duggar

Joseph "Joe" Garrett Duggar is the seventh of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's nineteen children. He is married to Kendra Duggar, and they have four children, Garrett, Addison, Brooklyn, and Justus.

## Early Life

Joseph Garrett "Joe" Duggar was born on January 20, 1995, to Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Ruark. He was the couple's seventh child, and they went on to have twelve more children after him.

Joseph was homeschooled growing up. As he grew older, he was given the responsibility of helping his younger siblings with their schoolwork in addition to doing his own. Joseph took the test for his GED at sixteen years old.

Like most children, Joseph was assigned chores growing up, which the family called "jurisdictions". In 2004, one of Joseph's jurisdictions was fetching the laundry. In 2011, Joseph's jurisdictions were outdoor work and the fireplace. It is likely that Joseph was freed all jurisdiction duties when he began courting Kendra Caldwell in 2017, as his sisters had previously been when beginning their courtships.

By 2001, Joseph's parents had implemented a buddy system, where each older child was paired with a younger child to take care of. Typical tasks for an older buddy included dressing, bathing, and feeding their younger buddies. By 2009, the family had switched from individual buddies to buddy teams, with each team being led by one of the oldest four daughters. At this time Joseph was relieved of his duties as an older buddy.

Joseph began taking piano lessons from Ruth Anita Anderson, who he and his siblings referred to as "Nana", as a young child. He also took violin lessons.

 Joseph was raised as an active participant in Bill Gothard's Institute for Basic Life Principles. In 2013, Joseph attended ALERT Academy, the institute's version of the ROTC.

When Joseph was nine years old, the first of his family's television specials, *14 Children and Pregnant Again!*, aired on Discovery Health Channel. This special was followed by four more special programs about his family's life before the family became the subject of their own regular show, *17 Kids and Counting*, on TLC when Joseph was thirteen years old.

In 2006, as featured on one of the TV specials, Joseph and his family moved into a new home in Springdale, AR. The family made a point of doing much of the work on the house themselves, seeing it as a learning opportunity for their children. In this house, Joseph was given a dormitory-style room with his brothers.

In late 2009, after his sister Josie was born premature, Joseph moved with his family into the Cornish House in Little Rock, AR, to be closer to the NICU. Joseph and a couple of his brothers moved back home before the rest of the family to get the house ready for their return.

    In 2010, Joseph was an extra on the film *Courageous*, but he did not make it into the film's final cut.

Thanks to the reality show, Joseph has been able to take a number of vacations as a teenager and young adult. Notable vacation locations include Disneyland, New York City, Niagara Falls, Scotland, Ireland, London, Israel, China, and Japan.

## Family

### Courtship

On March 8, 2017, Joseph announced that he was courting Kendra Caldwell on a TLCgo video. They met while attending Lighthouse Baptist Church, where Kendra's father is the pastor.

### Engagement

On May 26, 2017, Joe proposed to Kendra at his sister Joy-Anna's wedding reception. When Joy went to throw the bouquet to the group of eligible women, she simply turned and handed the bouquet to Kendra. She thought it was merely a sweet gesture until Joe appeared and proposed.

### Wedding

Joe married Kendra Caldwell on September 8, 2017, at First Baptist Church in Siloam Springs, AR. His best man was his brother Josiah, and his groomsmen were his brothers John David, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, and Josh, as well as his friends Trace Bates and Peter Query. His sisters Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joy, Johannah, and Jennifer were among the bridesmaids. "It is an amazing feeling to be husband and wife," Joe said of his wedding. "It's something that I've always dreamed of to have a wife and to raise a family in a way that honors the Lord. We are very excited to see what God has in the future for us."

For their honeymoon, the couple visited Athens, Greece.

### Fatherhood

On December 18, 2017, Joseph and Kendra announced that they're expecting their first child. On June 8, 2018, Joseph and Kendra welcomed their first child, Garrett David, into the world. He weighed 7 lb, 8 oz, and was 20.5 inches long.

On April 11, 2019, Joe and Kendra announced that they were expecting their second child. On November 2, 2019, Joseph and Kendra welcomed their second child, Addison Renee, into the world. She weighed 7 lb, 12.5 oz, and was 20.5 inches long.

On August 19, 2020, Joe and Kendra announced that they are expecting their third child, who is due in February of 2021. On February 19, 2021 Joe and Kendra welcomed Brooklyn Praise. She weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 20.25 inches long.

After several months of speculation, on July 4th, 2023, Jinger Vuolo released a video on YouTube in which Kendra was seen with a young baby boy. The events of the video had taken place in early April, as pictures from the occasion were posted by other Duggar family members at around that time. The baby boy is believed to have arrived around June of 2022, though further confirmation is desired. It was later found that his name is Justus.

## Resume

    Joseph earned his commercial driver's license and his realtor's license in 2016. He currently works for his father doing handyman work on the family's commercial properties.

### Education

Joseph attended a year-long Biblical degree program at Crown College in 2015.

### Television Appearances

After having much of his childhood featured in the Discovery Health and TLC specials and the show *19 Kids and Counting*, Joseph went on to be frequently featured in the TLC show *Counting On*.

## Wedding Involvement

    Joseph has been involved in the following weddings:

* groomsman: his brother Josh Duggar's wedding to Anna Keller (9/26/08)
* groomsman: his sister Jill Duggar's wedding to Derick Dillard (6/21/14)
* groomsman: his sister Jessa Duggar's wedding to Ben Seewald (11/1/14)
* groomsman: his friend Bobby Ballinger's wedding to Meagan Forsyth (11/14/15)
* best man: his brother Josiah Duggar's wedding to Lauren Swanson (6/30/18)
* best man: his brother John Duggar's wedding to Abbie Burnett (11/3/18)
* groomsman: his brother Jedidiah Duggar's wedding to Katelyn Nakatsu (4/3/21)
* groomsman: his brother Jeremiah Duggar's wedding to Hannah Wissmann (3/26/22)

## References

1. ↑ http://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/style/raising-14-kids/
2. ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/5iQIl6cSO
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-a-mother/
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.quiverfull.com/articles.php/id20/
5. ↑ **http://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/duggar-family-interview-finding-me-time**
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zd-dcslTwM
7. ↑ http://www.uatrav.com/news/article\_316cc7be-36a6-57c9-ac7b-5bc8bebe3a29.html
8. ↑ http://www.tlc.com/tlcme/joseph-duggar-is-courting-meet-his-special-someone/
9. ↑ http://people.com/tv/joseph-duggar-engaged-kendra-caldwell/
10. ↑ http://people.com/tv/joseph-duggar-and-kendra-caldwell-are-married/
11. ↑ http://www.duggarfamily.com/duggar-news?ID=9dd07196-1f6f-4216-bfee-11ad3d782699
12. ↑ http://www.duggarfamily.com/duggar-news?ID=c1810b53-c133-4dd9-81e7-0063e6520868
13. ↑ http://duggarfamily.com/duggar-news?ID=017b07d4-7e5a-45c1-a026-ca64a7305461
14. ↑ https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/counting-ons-joe-kendra-duggar-pregnant-expecting-2nd-child/
15. ↑ https://www.joeandkendra.com/2019/11/introducing-addison-renee-duggar/
16. ↑ https://people.com/tv/joseph-duggar-and-wife-kendra-pregnant-with-baby-number-3/
17. ↑ https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/1240844/counting-ons-kendra-and-joseph-duggar-welcome-baby-no-3
18. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/hJB3ypL
19. ↑ https://www.atkinsonfuneralhome.net/obituaries/Peggy-Ann-Caldwell?obId=28294265
20. ↑ https://www.christiantoday.com/article/joseph.duggar.completes.college.degree.programme.plans.to.pursue.real.estate.licence.like.his.parents/77465.htm
21. ↑ http://people.com/celebrity/joshua-duggar-his-new-wife-want-a-big-family/
22. ↑ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oBFKUvR1dFs/VRyu2bgS3kI/AAAAAAAAROk/WwK5qKdAftU/s1600/19-kids-jessa-ben-wedding-06.jpg
23. ↑ http://ruthsusanna.com/2015/12/09/bobby-meagans-wedding-day/?fbclid=IwAR0YZP1kVC20nTsNV0hW7xcBJ4Sdk3oBEpn\_8WucgR\_W7Eheb-HqJ7i9DTA
24. ↑ https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/counting-on/full-episodes/josiah-laurens-wedding-part-2
25. ↑ https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/counting-on/full-episodes/a-bachelor-no-more
26. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgkEUqGT0OQ