Dr. John B. Kittredge (1771 – 1848) made a mistake. As Framingham’s first doctor with an M.D. degree, he set up practice in 1791 and many were impressed with his medical capabilities. So much so that in 1793, a Framingham resident named Abidja Parmenter had a sick relative from New Hampshire come and see the young doctor. Dr. Kittredge initially thought the patient had dropsy (a swelling of the legs). To Dr. Kittredge’s dismay, it turned out he had a much more serious illness: smallpox. The virus quickly spread through the west side of town. Due to the good reputation of Kittredge, smallpox was in Framingham.
Smallpox outbreaks were being reported all around New England in the early 1790’s. Smallpox, a virus that causes flu-like symptoms and raised sores on the skin, spread easily as it was highly contagious, and wreaked havoc on cities, towns and Native American tribes. A smallpox diagnosis was usually a death sentence.
Dr. Kittredge’s patient did not survive. A “pest house”, where people with the disease stayed in quarantine, was formed at the home of Samuel Angier, a Revolutionary war veteran who was one of the first to be infected with the virus in Framingham. The town was wary of bringing the dead bodies into town for proper burial, so those who died were buried in a nearby pasture under flat stones, without inscriptions. Despite being connected to the smallpox outbreak, Dr. Kittredge remained a respected member of the medical community and his advice was often sought after by other physicians. He was one of the first professional men to come to Framingham town Centre and establish it as a bustling business place for Framingham and surrounding towns, and in that way his legacy is still felt today.
Bibliography
Coss, Stephen, The Fever of 1721: The Epidemic That Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics, Simon and Schuster, 2016.
Fenn, Elizabeth A., Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82, Hill and Wang, 2001.
Herring, Stephen, Framingham: An American Town, The Framingham Historical Society, The Framingham Tercentennial Commission, 2000.
Temple, J. H., History of Framingham 1640-1880, The Town of Framingham, 1887.
Willrich, Michael, Pox: An American History, The Penquin Press, 2011.