Tobacco's legacy

The roots of the Reynolds empire began in the antebellum South. The patriarch, Hardin Reynolds, was a highly successful planter but moved to the even more profitable business of fashioning tobacco into the twists that were chewed by the users of that day. His sons, Abram and R.J. were also highly su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:D&B reports 1993-07, Vol.42 (4), p.56
Main Author: Steck, Robert N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antebellum period
Business growth
Cleaning compounds
Company profiles
Entrepreneurs
Families & family life
Metal industry
Personal profiles
Reynolds, R J
Tobacco
Tobacco industry
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Summary:The roots of the Reynolds empire began in the antebellum South. The patriarch, Hardin Reynolds, was a highly successful planter but moved to the even more profitable business of fashioning tobacco into the twists that were chewed by the users of that day. His sons, Abram and R.J. were also highly successful, respectively establishing a metals empire in Washington and a hugely successful tobacco factory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As people considered both the health effects and the aesthetics of chewing tobacco, R.J. Reynolds became convinced that the future would belong to the rolled cigarette and introduced the brand that still survives today, Camel cigarettes. The charitable and cultural contributions of the Reynolds family over the decades have been impressive, but equally impressive has been the toll that tobacco has taken on family members. R.J., one of his sons, one of his wives, and 2 of his daughters all died from tobacco-related diseases. Lawsuits have also plagued the family.
ISSN:0746-6110