855 Cedar Street, Alameda, CA
On November 1, 1915, Frank A. Myers and his brothers sold 855 Cedar St. to the Kitterman family, with the deed in the name of the wife of James Joseph Kitterman, Anna Gertrude (Mogan) Kitterman. The property transfer was accompanied by a Quitclaim Deed relative to the Rancho Bolsa de Encinal de San Antonio Patent Line in San Francisco Bay which was created by a Tide Land survey.
Present day members of the Kitterman family fill in much of James and Anna's pre-Cedar St. story. James was born in Louisiana in the 1840's and ran away from home in Indiana at the age of 10, after his mother died, as he did not get along with his step-mother. He became a drummer boy for the North in the Civil War. When the war was over, James feared retaliation if he returned to Indiana where folks were southern sympathizers, so he became a cabin boy on a clipper ship headed for Panama. When he arrived in Panama, he walked across the Isthmus of Panama along with others heading for California. He then traveled to San Francisco by ship and continued to work on ships, rising to the level of ship’s captain.
James was twice a widower prior to his marriage to Anna G. He married his first wife, Mary Kelly, in San Francisco in 1866 and they had three children, Martha (b. 1868), Minnie (b. 1870), and George (b. 1872). James entered the furniture business after he started a family, this being a more suitable career for a family man than a ship's captain. Mary Kelly passed in 1879 at the age of 45, and James married his second wife, Hannah, in San Francisco, in 1881. They had two sons, James (b. 1883) and Edward (b. 1885). Hannah passed in 1900 at the age of 44.
In 1901, James married Anna Gertrude Mogan (b. 1867 in California) in San Francisco. In the 1906 earthquake and fire, James lost his home at 532 Lombard Street, his furniture business on Stockton St. and a number of other properties throughout San Francisco. James’ and Anna’s second child, Joseph, was born on April 15, 1906, three days before the earthquake. Mother and child were taken to a hospital in Oakland. The rest of the family was separated, some to the family's house boat in Sausalito and others to Golden Gate Park to camp with other quake victims. James rebuilt his business and was therefore in a position to help many other San Franciscans restore their lives as well. As of the 1910 U.S. Census, James and Anna had three children, Mary Waldron (b. 1902), Joseph Aloysius (b. 1906), Anna Marie (b. 1908) and lived at 568 Greenwich St. in San Francisco. Their fourth child, Anthony Aloysius, was born 6 weeks after the census was taken, in June 1910.
James Kitterman's Boat "Pronto II"
In 1915, James and Anna G. Kitterman and their four children moved into "the big house" at 855 Cedar St. In 1918, when the children were between the ages of sixteen and eight, the Kitterman’s built three bungalows; two on the water between the boat house and Cedar Street, and the third one on the opposite side of 855 (Lot 21 of the Bellevue Tract). James and Anna chose 855 Cedar St. because the lots were large enough to build the three bungalows, which would allow the family to live near each other and not be separated again in the event of another large earthquake.
The bungalows, addressed as 851, 853, and 857, were rented to small families. A Sanborn map of the time, shows the additions of the bungalows and that 855 Cedar St. retained much of its side yard, its boathouse, and its beach front access.
The 1920 U.S. Census lists only James and Anna G. as residing at 855 Cedar St. and mistakenly lists all the children as living across the street at 854 Cedar St. (perhaps they were playing at the neighbor's house the day the enumerator called!)
In 1929, James Joseph Kitterman passed and his will states in part:
1. After my just debts are paid, I give one thousand dollars to be divided between the Jesuit, Salesian, and Franciscan fathers in San Francisco for Masses for my soul;
2. I give one half of all my property of any kind to my wife Anna Kitterman, except such property as she may hold in deed herself, and the remaining half to my children and the children of any deceased child of mine in share alike, according to the laws of the state of Calif. in case a person dies without a will. Except my business located at 1327 Stockton St. located in San Francisco, being my wife Anna G. holding one half as Partner, the remaining represented and owned by me is to be divided equally between my living children, James, Edward, Joseph, Anthony, Mary, and Anna Kitterman...
Thus, the 1930 U.S. Census lists Anna G. as the head of the household with three children living at home; Joseph, Anna, and Anthony. Mary, the oldest, her husband, Robert Pyke and their daughter, Anita, rented the bungalow at 853 Cedar St. Mary married in 1926 and it is likely that she and her new husband moved into 853 at that time.
View of San Francisco Bay and Joseph Kitterman
at the Foot of Cedar St. -- 1938
855 Cedar St. Looking West
Overlooking San Francisco Bay
James’ two sons, Joseph and Anthony, worked at the Furniture store until World War II, when they closed the furniture store and went to work in the shipyards. Joseph married Marie Friedlander in 1931, and Anthony married Lucille Conroy in 1932.
Kitterman’s – The Next Generation – 1936 to 1963
Joseph and his wife, Marie, had three children, Joan Alicia (b. 1932), Joseph Aloysius (b. 1936), and Alicia Marie (b. 1941) all of whom grew up in 855 Cedar St. Several of Marie’s relatives lived there as well at various times including her sister, Phyllis and her brother, Dr. Richard Friedlander.
In 1946, Joseph carried on the family tradition of seafarers by purchasing a 40-foot schooner, the Sea Gull. This photo, from 1950 during Joseph's third term as commodore of the Encinal Yacht Club, was taken during the Vallejo Race and won a prize for best sailing photo on the Pacific Coast that year.
Joseph Kitterman's "Sea Gull"
By 1955, the South Shore tidelands reclamation project by Utah Construction Company was underway. In 1957, the Lassen v City of Alameda lawsuit was finally settled and the order of the Alameda City Council approved the petition of Utah Construction Company for the formation of a reclamation district. 218 owners of lands, presumably including the Kitterman’s, were included in the district. 855 Cedar St. no longer fronted on San Francisco Bay, but now fronted the lagoon.
The boathouse at 855 Cedar St. was one of the casualties of the project as it was hauled out to the mudflats by Utah Construction Company and set on fire.
By 1959, 855 Cedar St. had become too big for the family so Joseph built a smaller house on the waterfront portion of the property, above where the boathouse had been. This new house was addressed as 853, and the two bungalows next door were re-addressed as 849 and 851. This significant alteration in the property is illustrated in the Sanborn Map. Joseph and Marie and their youngest daughter lived at 853 Cedar St.
The configuration of the houses on the property has not changed since 1959.
By the time Joseph and Marie sold 855 Cedar St. in 1963, three generations of Kittermans had called it home.