Alfred Beard Kittredge Biography This biography appears on pages 1110, 1113-1115 in "History of Dakota Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm SENATOR ALFRED BEARD KITTREDGE. The life record of Senator Alfred Beard Kittredge was one which reflected signal credit and honor upon the state which honored him. He was the first man through whom South Dakota gained distinction in international relations, coming through his appointment as a member of the interoceanic canals committee. In every important position in which he was found he rose equal to the occasion and became a guiding and directing force in shaping public opinion and action. It has been said: "The biography of A. B. Kittredge and the history of South Dakota for twenty-five years are one and inseparable." It is claimed that one cannot properly estimate or analyze character without knowing of the ancestry back of the individual. Senator Kittredge was fortunate in that he came of ancestry honorable and distinguished and he was fortunate in that his lines of life were cast in harmony therewith. The records give account of his lineage as far back as 1590. It is traced in unbroken line on the maternal side to Nicholas Clapp, who was born in 1612 and who died at Dorchester, Massachusetts, November 24, 1679. On the paternal side he was descended from Dr. John Kittredge, who was born in England in 1620 and reached the shores of the new world in 1660. Among the connections of the Kittredge family were those who in 1593, for meritorious achievements and high station in life, were granted a coat of arms by the crown: a sable shield, with a lion d'or rampant; the crest a mural coronet over which rests a gold lion's head in profile, facing the left. On the streamer beneath the shield appears the motto: "Ne Pars Sincera Trahetur"-"Let naught that is good be lost." This coat of arms is still in possession of the Kittredge family and is prized very highly by them. In the maternal line Senator Kittredge was connected with the Livermores and Shermans, prominent New England families. Dr. John Kittredge, who became the founder of the American line, settled at Billerica, Massachusetts, in 1660 and participated in King Philip's war, 1675. He figured prominently in early colonial history and passed away in 1676. His son, Dr. John Kittredge, Jr., also took an active and leading part in the early wars of the colonists, while another ancestor, Jonathan Kittredge, won distinction in the hard fought Indian battle at Lovewell's Pond, in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on the 15th of April, 1775, losing his life in that engagement. Others of the name also won distinction in the early colonial wars and in connection with professional and business interests. The third generation in America was represented by John Kittredge, who became a physician, and all of his eight sons followed in his professional footsteps, Joshua Kittredge, the great-grandfather of Senator Kittredge, was born in Billerica, Massachusetts, in 1760 or 1761 and prior to the war for independence removed to Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, where he joined the Revolutionary forces in 1777 with a company of volunteers, being at the time but seventeen years of age. When American liberty had been achieved he settled at Nelson, New Hampshire, where he married and in 1833 passed away. His son Herbert was married in 1828 to Sarah Livermore and they became the grandparents of Senator Kittredge. His grandparents in the maternal line were Henry and Laura (Beard) Holmes. The two families were united through the marriage of Russell Herbert Kittredge and Laura Frances Holmes. They became the parents of two sons and two daughters: Professor H. W. Kittredge, of Westfield, Massachusetts; Mrs. Fanny E. Pearson, of Gardner, Massachusetts; Mrs. Mary Hall, of Wakefield, Massachusetts; and Alfred Beard. The father is still living, at an advanced age, at East Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It was while the family home was maintained in the village of Nelson, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, that Senator Kittredge was born March 28, 1861. He spent the first foul teen years of his life upon the old homestead with the usual experiences of the farm lad, working in the field as age and strength permitted and also learning and loving every phase of nature. The men who became acquainted with nature, knowing her force, her resources and her beauties, usually place a more correct estimate on life and the work of mall than those who are city bred and Senator Kittredge early learned lessons which constituted forces in his sound judgment throughout his later years. He supplemented a public school education by study under a private tutor and then entered Yale University in June, 1878, completing a course in the academic department by graduation with the class of 1882. For a year thereafter he was a law student in the office of Judge Veasey at Rutland, Vermont, and later studied with the firm of Bachelor & Faulkner, of Keene, New Hampshire. He became a law student at Yale in 1884, completing the course in 1885, and was then admitted to the bar of Conncecticut upon examination before the supreme court of the state. Senator Kittredge was then twenty-four years of age. He heard and heeded the call of the west, which he regarded as the land of opportunity. Moreover, ability, learning and laudable ambition fitted him for leadership and it was not surprising that when in 1885 he made his way to Sioux Falls, then a small western village, he came almost immediately into prominence. His jovial disposition and keen discernment gained him friends, while his knowledge of the law and ability to correctly apply its principles brought him immediate success at the bar. In addition to his practice he acted as correspondent for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and later he entered into partnership with C. H. Winsor. The rapid growth of their clientage forced him to abandon his newspaper correspondence and he remained in partnership with Mr. Winsor until 1895, gaining a place among the foremost representatives of the bar in the state. It has been said that it is doubtful if any other lawyer of South Dakota ever won so large a percentage of his cases. He never spoke ill court unless it was absolutely necessary but when he did "his English was like a stream of pure water, clear and limpid." He ever displayed inherent honesty, regard for the rights of opposing counsel, courtesy to the bench, a retentive memory, wide range of knowledge of all phases of law and an overpowering personality. He had, too, a magnificent physique and a clear, resonant voice and that his ability was widely recognized is indicated by the fact that prominent lawyers all over the state consulted him upon intricate problems. Not only at the bar but in the public life of the state did Mr. Kittredge become a recognized leader. He was a stalwart republican, never wavering in his allegiance to the party, which, recognizing his ability for leadership, called him to the front ranks. In 1900 he accompanied Senator Marcus N. Hanna, of Ohio, on his great speech- making trip through South Dakota. At that time there was a most bitter contest between Senator Pettigrew and Mr. Kittredge for control of the state legislature, which would be called upon to elect a United States senator to succeed Mr. Pettigrew. Later during Theodore Roosevelt's administration when he visited Sioux Falls and Mr. Kittredge was asked to introduce him, he showed his appreciation of the fact that the people had gathered to hear the nation's executive and no one else by the brevity of his introduction, which was only two words. Pointing to Mr. Roosevelt, he said: "the president." The crowd was astonished but applauded vociferously. Mr. Kittredge had been a resident of South Dakota for only two years when he was made chairman of the Minnehaha county republican committee. He never sought office for himself but when urged to become a candidate he accepted, believing it to be the duty of every individual to serve his country in the way in which he was called upon to do. On the 11th of July, 1901, Governor Herreid appointed Mr. Kittredge to the United States senate. Twelve years before, in 1889, Minnehaha county had elected him a member of the first state senate and had returned him to the upper house in 1891. His record as one of the state senators was unassailable, for he displayed initiative, progressiveness and public spirit. In 1892 he was elected a member of the republican national committee from South Dakota and following the death of Senator Kyle, when it became necessary to fill the vacancy, Governor Herreid named Mr. Kittredge as the man, saying: "When by the death of Senator Kyle it became my duty to appoint a United States senator from our state, my own estimate of Mr. Kittredge as a great jurist and a man convinced me that he was the man for the place and if I appointed him that he would soon develop into a great statesman.,, In accepting the office Mr. Kittredge wired: "Thank you. I will do my best to bring credit to the state, party, yourself and our friends," and he lived fully up to this pledge. Senator Kittredge determined his course upon any public question by answering the query, "What is the right thing to do?" Taking his place as a member of the United States senate, he had the unusual distinction of being appointed to two of the most important committees- an honor that seldom comes to a new member. He was made a member of the committee on interoceanic canals and of the judiciary committee and following the death of Marcus N. Hanna, of Ohio, he was made chairman of the canal committee. This brought him into prominent relations with national and international affairs. He investigated and reported on the title to the Panama route and his report, which consisted of fifteen printed pages, was approved by the president, sanctioned by the department of justice and adopted unanimously without the alteration of a word or syllable by the United States senate. His report on the type of canal, whether a sea level or lock canal, was even a greater effort. It was one of the best scientific treatises on canal construction ever published, in which he pleaded earnestly for an "ideal canal," which should be a sea level one. As chairman of the canal commission he made a trip to Panama accompanied by Mr. Taft, then secretary of war, and a number of able engineers. The judiciary committee, of which Senator Kittredge was made a member, handled problems of constitutional law and is usually formed of older representatives of the upper house. When the question of the lumber trust came before the people Senator Kittredge brought to the study of the problem the usual thoroughness with which he attacked any question. He never expressed himself until he was sure of his ground and for two years he quietly gathered evidence against the illegal combination and when, without previous announcement, for there was nothing spectacular in any of his public movements, he rose one day in the United States senate and offered a resolution for the investigation of the lumber trust, a profound impression was created. Not a sound was to be heard in the senate chamber for a few moments following his speech, which, without superfluous words, was an arraignment of the facts, neat and terse. It was on the 6th of December, 1906, that the original resolution calling for an investigation of the trust was offered and on the 18th of January following Senator Kittredge moved a modification of the previous resolution, which was agreed to, and in this connection he made one of his most memorable speeches. He introduced in the senate and aided in securing the passage of the copyright hew, which protected both authors and artists in their work, and he was instrumental in securing larger pensions for the veterans of the Civil war. He stood with the opposition against Mormonism when the great question of allowing Smoot, of Utah, to retain his seat in the senate was up for settlement. He was heard as an earnest and oft times eloquent speaker on the floor of the senate and was frequently called upon on other occasions to address public assemblages, delivering on Memorial Day of 1907 a most masterful address at Woonsocket, South Dakota. In 1908 Senator Kittredge was a candidate for renomination but was defeated by Coe I. Crawford, then governor. There were many elements that entered into this, including a strong spirit of unrest in republican circles, the spread of the insurgent idea, which had its inception in the repeated successes of Robert LaFollette, of Wisconsin, and other causes. Mr. Kittredge lost, but the contest was so close that a change of but six votes in one ward of Sioux Falls would have saved the state for him. Mr. Kittredge ever worked earnestly for the interests of the people. He stood for their interests against excessive freight and passenger rates on the railroads and delivered a great speech on the subject in the auditorium of Sioux Falls. On various occasions, as in this instance, his words awakened the warmest enthusiasm. He was sparing of words, never superfluous, carefully thinking out his utterances and making them count. On the 4th of March, 1909, Senator Kittredge returned to Sioux Falls and resumed the private practice of law. He was accorded an extensive clientage, particularly in the field of corporation law, his business becoming so large that he could scarcely handle it. In October, 1910, after trying a severely contested case during which he became greatly heated, he contracted a severe cold when returning to his office in Sioux Falls and from that time on his heath failed until he passed away on the 4th of May, 1911. His funeral was attended by many distinguished men outside of Sioux Falls beside his fellow townsmen and the people of the state have honored him as they have but one other man by placing a marble bust of him in the capitol building, while other friends contributed large sums to secure two oil paintings, one of which hangs in the state capitol at Pierre and the other in the Cataract Hotel at Sioux Falls. When the marble bust was unveiled on the 15th of January, 1913, it was made a memorable occasion in which both houses of the legislature participated. Lieutenant Governor E. L. Abel, of Huron, presided and delivered the first address. Numerous letters from prominent men in national life were read, among them letters from President Taft, Senator Julius C. Burrows of Michigan, Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, Senator J. H. Gallinger of New Hampshire, and Congressman E. W. Martin, all speaking in the highest terms of Mr. Kittredge as a man, as a public official and as a statesman. He was a tremendous worker, whether in public life or before the bar, and his ability placed him in a most enviable position among the distinguished representatives of the northwest. Of him it has been said: "Regardless of what the future may bring Senator Kittredge will remain a great character in the history of South Dakota and will ever be revered and admired by his many friends, whom he never betrayed." No man of his ability and influence could take an active part in public life without meeting opposition, yet those who differed from him in opinion respected him for the honesty of his views and for his unfaltering allegiance to a cause which he championed. His life was honorable in its purposes and far-reaching and beneficial in its results.