Born in Ganotown, Virginia (now West Virginia), Kitchen attended common schools as a child and later engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock raising. He was a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1861 and 1862 under the Restored Government of Virginia. On May 28, 1863, Kitchen was elected from Virginia's 7th District to the United States House of Representatives. He presented his credentials as a member-elect to the 38th United States Congress in December 1863, but was not permitted a seat because voting had been limited in the war-torn counties of the 7th District.