THE R. J. REYNOLDS FAMILY INTRODUCTION - LIVES AND LEGACIES

Feb 18, 2025

This marks my 100th post since I began writing in mid-2022. Sharing information has been both a joy and a way to stay engaged. Along the way, I’ve connected with over 2,300 of you—many as friends. Some I’ve met in person, but most only virtually. Yet, you are still my friends.

To celebrate this milestone, I’m beginning the story of the R. J. Reynolds family. This is a fitting moment, as it coincides with the 150th anniversary of Reynolds Tobacco, and it will be part of a broader sesquicentennial celebration.

“Be careful when you wish for fortune or fame. Both are seductive and dangerous.”

Gene Hoots

More than a dozen books and three films explore the Reynolds family,[i] but none tell the full story. Some focus on the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, but offer little about R. J. Reynolds himself or his wife, Katharine. Others detail the life of a single family member without fully exploring the generational relationships.

In 1963, Nan Tilley wrote The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, covering 1875–1963. Yet, only 25 of its 678 pages discuss RJR before 1875, and Katharine appears on just 11 pages. My 2020 book, Going Down Tobacco Road, spans 1960–2017, but only 10 of its 336 pages mention RJR before 1875, with no reference to Katharine.

Having grown up in Winston-Salem, I frequently heard stories about the Reynolds family. I considered including some in my book but was dissuaded by an unspoken rule: One must not speak ill of RJR, his family, or his employees, even if true. And it is a grave sin to bear false witness against them. Two things have since changed my approach.

First, I discovered a remarkable 2012 book: Michele Gillespie’s Katharine and R. J. Reynolds: Partners of Fortune in the Making of the New South. Now the provost at Wake Forest University, Gillespie conducted extensive research, presenting a balanced account of the remarkable couple’s lives—the good and the bad—within the context of their time. It’s a book I can only wish I had written.

Second, in 2023, the Reynolda House Museum—once the Reynolds estate and mansion - broke the unwritten rule. After 70 years, the museum, founded by an RJR granddaughter, decided to publicly acknowledge, as fully as possible, a major family tragedy that took place there in 1932. To their credit, family members agreed it was time to tell the story.

Following their lead, though with far less skill and research, I am writing a series of posts to share what I can about the Reynolds family. My work is not original; I have drawn from many well-researched sources. Like Gillespie and the Reynolda House Museum, I aim to present a fair and thorough account. The Reynolds family endured great tragedies, yet their legacy continues to shape North Carolina and beyond.

As a financial analyst at heart, I have also examined the immense wealth RJR and Katharine left to their heirs. Their fortune funded extravagant lifestyles for many, but it also supported extraordinary charitable efforts with benefits for countless others. While it’s impossible to track exactly how much was spent or lost to taxes, the family’s R. J. Reynolds stock generated vast wealth.

To put this in perspective, I have included adjusted values for significant portions of the family’s wealth and expenditures, noted as “C$” (current dollar equivalent). For example, during the Great Depression, Smith Reynolds, the youngest child, received an annual allowance of $15,000 from his mother’s estate—equivalent to C$360,000 today.

I understand that my readers have diverse interests, and I strive to cover a variety of topics to keep you engaged. While this history may not appeal to everyone, rest assured I will continue writing about investments and other subjects. I hope you will find this series informative and entertaining.

A Personal Connection

Researching the Reynolds family made me realize how profoundly they shaped my hometown, my life, and the lives of those around me and across North Carolina.

For 21 years, R. J. Reynolds companies provided my livelihood. Later, my investment partnership’s first office was in Reynolda Village for seven years. For a decade, my home stood just 1,600 feet—though about $1.6 billion—away from Reynolda House.

On crisp fall mornings, I would walk down Reynolda Road to my office, admiring the red and yellow leaves on the row of maples that Katharine Reynolds lovingly planted 75 years earlier. Those walks remain among my fondest memories. And 36 years later, they are still part of my Walk Down Tobacco Road.

[i] Books

Written on the Wind – Robert Wilder (1946, G.P. Putnam's Sons)
A novel loosely based on Zachary Smith Reynolds’ marriage to Libby Holman and the suspicions surrounding his suicide.
Libby Holman: Body and Soul – Jon Bradshaw (1983, William Morrow & Co.)
A biography of actress and singer Libby Holman, touching on her marriage to tobacco heir Zachary Smith Reynolds and the scandal surrounding his death.
Dreams That Money Can Buy: The Tragic Life of Libby Holman – Jon Bradshaw (1985, William Morrow & Co.)
An in-depth account of Libby Holman’s turbulent life, including her marriage to Zachary Smith Reynolds.
The Gilded Leaf: Triumph, Tragedy, and Tobacco: Three Generations of the R.J. Reynolds Family and Fortune – Patrick Reynolds & Tom Shachtman (1989, Little, Brown and Company)
A detailed exploration of the Reynolds family’s rise, personal struggles, and legacy over three generations.
Lost Empire: The Fall of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company – Frank V. Tursi, Susan E. White, & Steve McQuilkin (1999, Gorham Publishing)
An analysis of the decline of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, examining both internal corporate decisions and external market pressures.
Kid Carolina: R.J. Reynolds Jr., a Tobacco Fortune, and the Mysterious Death of a Southern Icon – Heidi Schnakenberg (2010, Center Street)
A biography focusing on R.J. Reynolds Jr. and the complexities of his family’s wealth and legacy.
Katharine and R.J. Reynolds: Partners of Fortune in the Making of the New South – Michele Gillespie (2012, University of Georgia Press)
A scholarly study of Katharine and R.J. Reynolds, detailing their influence on business, philanthropy, and the development of the New South.
Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories – David Park Curry & Martha R. Severens (2017, University of North Carolina Press)
An exploration of Katharine Smith Reynolds’ contributions to the arts and the creation of Reynolda House and estate.

Movies

Sing, Sinner, Sing (1933)
Loosely inspired by the 1932 Libby Holman-Zachary Smith Reynolds case. Starring Paul Lukas and Leila Hyams, the film follows a singer accused of murdering her wealthy playboy husband aboard a gambling ship. Notable jazz musicians Lionel Hampton and Marshal Royal appear in the film.
Reckless (1935)
A musical drama starring Jean Harlow, based on the scandal surrounding Libby Holman’s marriage to Zachary Smith Reynolds and his death by gunshot. Harlow replaced Joan Crawford in the lead role, and the film gained extra notoriety due to Harlow’s personal connection to a similar scandal.
Written on the Wind (1956)
A melodrama inspired by Robert Wilder’s 1946 novel, which was itself based on the Reynolds-Holman scandal. Starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone, the film follows the lives of a dysfunctional Texas oil dynasty. Universal Pictures changed the setting from North Carolina to Texas and shifted the family's fortune from tobacco to oil to avoid legal conflicts with the Reynolds family.