Family tree of R.J. REYNOLDS
Industrialist, Businessman
Born Richard Joshua REYNOLDS
American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Born on July 20, 1850 in Patrick County, Virginia, USA , United States
Died on July 29, 1918 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
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In 1874, Reynolds sold his interest in the family tobacco business to his father and left Patrick County to start his own tobacco company. He needed a railroad hub for his business, and since there wasn't one in Patrick County, he went to the nearest one, Winston, NC. Winston and Salem were separate towns at that time. The story goes that he came riding into town on a horse, reading The New York Times, and dreaming of building a golf course somewhere in the rural part of the town. By 1875, Reynolds had established his tobacco manufacturing operation, and in the first year, it produced 150,000 pounds of tobacco. Although Winston-Salem alone had 15 other tobacco companies, Reynolds was able to distinguish himself through his business acumen and innovative techniques, including adding saccharin to chewing tobacco. By the 1890s, production had increased to millions of pounds annually.
... Reynolds was born at Rock Spring Plantation near Critz, Patrick County, Virginia, to Nancy Jane Cox Reynolds and Hardin Reynolds, a tobacco farmer and slaveowner.
In 1874, Reynolds sold his interest in the family tobacco business to his father and left Patrick County to start his own tobacco company. He needed a railroad hub for his business, and since there wasn't one in Patrick County, he went to the nearest one, Winston, NC. Winston and Salem were separate towns at that time. The story goes that he came riding into town on a horse, reading The New York Times, and dreaming of building a golf course somewhere in the rural part of the town. By 1875, Reynolds had established his tobacco manufacturing operation, and in the first year, it produced 150,000 pounds of tobacco. Although Winston-Salem alone had 15 other tobacco companies, Reynolds was able to distinguish himself through his business acumen and innovative techniques, including adding saccharin to chewing tobacco. By the 1890s, production had increased to millions of pounds annually.
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Geographical origins
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