Two years after Amos was born, Zebedee Kendall was named a deacon of the local Congregational church. The Kendalls were very religious, and family life was strict. Kendall's early years were spent working on the family farm, an average-sized property which had of arable land. The farm primarily raised sheep and dairy cattle and provided pasture for the family horses and oxen (which were used for plowing fields). The family farmed corn, flax, hay, potatoes, and rye. A small part of the land was devoted to growing tobacco. Amos also assisted in clearing rocks from the farmland (which was extremely rocky and full of clay), and mending stone and split-rail fences. Amos was a sickly child, thin and prone to colds and severe headaches.