M. (1) 28 Jan 1824 in Nelson, New Hampshire
Wife: Sophia Lyman
M. (2) 29 Nov 1838 in Nelson, New Hampshire
Wife: Anne Marie Lyman
D. 13 Sep 1882 in Boston, Massachusetts
Abel Kittredge was a humble, hard-working man, who spent most of his life in a small New England town. And when his happiness was shattered by the death of his young wife, he took her suggestion on who he should marry next.
Abel was born to Joshua Kittredge and Beulah Baker on November 14, 1798 in Packersfield, New Hampshire (later renamed Nelson). He was one of eight children and the oldest son; his father also had three daughters from an earlier marriage.
Records in Nelson show that Abel joined the First Congregationalist Church in 1822. About two years later, on January 28, 1824, he married Sophia Lyman, the adopted daughter of the church pastor, Reverend Gad Newell. They soon had two children, Sophia and Edward. Unfortunately, Sophia suffered some physical complications after the birth of their third child, Samuel Farrington. She weakened even more after giving birth to a fourth child in 1835, who died at the age of one year.
Besides working as a farmer, Abel learned the skills to make cabinets and furniture. A desk that he made in about 1830 has been handed down in the family so that we can see his craftsmanship and design abilities. A note attached to the back states that it was built so he could gain initiation into a guild of cabinet makers. Abel owned a cabinet-making shop during this time.
Desk built by Abel in about 1830.
It was also in about 1830 that Abel had his portrait done. In the days before photography, the only way to preserve one’s face for posterity was by sitting for an artist. The man who captured Abel's likeness was Rufus Porter, a renown painter who worked in watercolor. The portrait was done as a profile, and it shows a handsome young man with a determined gaze — this was Abel in the prime of his life.
Rufus Porter's watercolor painting of Abel.
By the late 1830s, it became clear that Sophia was not going to recover from her last pregnancy, and sadly, her life came to an end on May 2, 1838. Before her death, she asked Abel to marry her younger half-sister, which must have been an emotional prospect for him. He kept his promise, and on November 29th, married Anne Marie Lyman. About a year later, Anne Marie gave birth to a son; she went on to have two more children with him (one died young).
1838 was a particularly rough year for Abel. Along with losing Sophia, a building he owned, presumably for his cabinet-making business, went up in flames. The fire was started in a lightning storm in early July; it was said that materials which were kept there essentially made it a tinder box, and the fire destroyed the building with everything in it. Abel had no insurance, so he presumably took a huge financial loss.
As for Abel's personal property, he lived on land in Nelson where his father had built a large house during the 1790s. His brother Herbert and nephew Russell lived on the land as well; presumably they all had their own houses for their families. A letter written by a cousin in 1846 described that Abel was constructing a house that year. "The chimney is up so [the family] can use the oven, but the shed has to answer for the kitchen, parlor and sitting room." The letter also said how hard Abel had worked in "haying" season, and the fact that only one of his grown sons was available to help with the labor.
Soon Abel's older children were leaving the nest. In 1849, sons Edward and Samuel took off for the California gold rush, and daughter Sophia married a minister from Maine, who left her widowed a few years later. By 1860, Abel lived in Boston with Anne Marie, their sons Henry and Minot, and Sophia's 3-year-old daughter, Nancy French. He was listed on the census with the occupation of “market man.” Minot went on to serve in the Union army during the Civil War, and he participated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Letter written by Abel in 1877.
Abel and Anne Marie moved back to Nelson by 1870, but she passed away in 1879. In his final years, Abel moved into the household of granddaughter Nancy, who now lived in Boston and was married to a carriage maker, George Hewes. One family member warmly recalled a particular spot where Abel always sat next to a window in Hewes' kitchen. He became sick with pneumonia, and died on September 13, 1882 at the age of 83.
Identifying images of Abel
I inherited a collection of family photos which had belonged to Abel’s daughter, Sophia. Some of the photos had writing on them, but many didn’t, and none were identified as Abel, a fact that was frustrating. But in February 2023, I came into contact with another descendant of Abel, who owns the desk and watercolor painting shown above. This gave me hope that I could use the painting to identify Abel in Sophia’s photos.
The first images I looked at were two daguerreotypes of a couple. Because daguerreotypes were so expensive, I assumed that the couple would have to be people closely related to Sophia. Unfortunately, both are badly damaged because they were not in protective cases, but I made copies and cleaned them up in Photoshop as best as I could. I concluded that the man in the daguerreotypes might be Abel.
I inherited a collection of family photos which had belonged to Abel’s daughter, Sophia. Some of the photos had writing on them, but many didn’t, and none were identified as Abel, a fact that was frustrating. But in February 2023, I came into contact with another descendant of Abel, who owns the desk and watercolor painting shown above. This gave me hope that I could use the painting to identify Abel in Sophia’s photos.
The first images I looked at were two daguerreotypes of a couple. Because daguerreotypes were so expensive, I assumed that the couple would have to be people closely related to Sophia. Unfortunately, both are badly damaged because they were not in protective cases, but I made copies and cleaned them up in Photoshop as best as I could. I concluded that the man in the daguerreotypes might be Abel.
Next I looked through the other types of photos. One carte de visite taken in about 1860 was absolutely the same man as in one of the daguerreotypes. I also noticed that it was taken in the same studio set-up of a photo of Sophia, which suggested a scenario that they had their portraits done at the same time. Then I found a tintype which seemed to be the same man again only older.
One feature I found in all of the images was a prominent tuft of hair that stuck up from the top of his head, something I could see even in the watercolor, which led me to one more image that predated everything else. In Sophia’s collection were two small tintype copies of silhouette portraits of a man and a woman. I always wondered who these people were. The clothing in the silhouettes was a strong clue and I was able to put a date on them of about 1825. It made sense that they were Abel and his first wife Sophia based on the fact their daughter owned them. The silhouette of the man doesn’t perfectly match the watercolor, but there were similarities in the facial features, and there was that tuft of hair.
When I was done, I compared the five possible images of Abel Kittredge. With the exception of the more badly damaged of the daguerreotypes which is probably Abel, I feel confident that the other images are all definitely him.
Children by Sophia Lyman:
1. Sophia Newell Kittredge — B. 22 Nov 1824, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 22 Dec 1900, Los Angeles, California; M. James Riddle French (1810-1857), 7 Aug 1849, Nelson, New Hampshire
2. Edward Lyman Kittredge — B. 14 May 1827, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 16 May 1906, Boston, Massachusetts; M. Deborah Lewis (1822-1906), 30 Nov 1854, Boston, Massachusetts
3. Samuel Farrington Kittredge — B. 14 Mar 1830, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 24 Nov 1907, Boston, Massachusetts; M. Marietta Prudy Fillebrown (1835-?), 24 Nov 1853
4. Charles Stone Kittredge — B. 15 Dec 1835, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 1 Mar 1837, (probably) Nelson, New Hampshire
Children by Anne Marie Lyman:
1. Minot Melville Kittredge — B. 24 Nov 1839, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 25 Jun 1903, Boston, Massachusetts; M. Martha E. Marsh (~1845-?), 19 Nov 1867
2. Henry Sumner Kittredge — B. 23 Nov 1843, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 27 Oct 1912, Boston, Massachusetts
3. Charles Wheeler Kittredge — B. Jul 1849, Nelson, New Hampshire; D. 26 Sep 1853, (probably) Nelson, New Hampshire
Sources:
A History of Nelson, New Hampshire, Parke Hardy Struthers, 1968
The Kittredge Family in America, Mabel T. Kittredge, 1936
Letter from Sophia L. Kittredge to Anne Lyman, Nelson, New Hampshire, 21 Nov 1830
Letter from B.G. Newell to Sophia N. Kittredge, Nelson, New Hampshire, 17 Aug 1846
George Lyman Kittredge – Teacher and Scholar, Clyde Kenneth Hyder, 1962
Letter from Samuel Farrington Kittredge to Sophia N. French, West Newfield, Maine, 12 Sep 1893
Letter from Deborah Kittredge to Sophia N. French, Roxbury, Massachusetts, 9 Dec 1889
1860, 1870 and 1880 U.S. Censuses, Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Death certificate of Abel Kittredge, Boston, Massachusetts, 13 Sep 1882
Family bible of James Riddle and Sophia Newell French
Letters of James Riddle French (1849-1852)
Death certificate of Sophia French, 22 Nov 1900, Los Angeles, California
Massachusetts deaths, 1841-1915
