Who were R.J. and Katharine Reynolds?
Tobacco tycoon Richard Joshua “R.J.” Reynolds grew up in the hills of Virginia. Katharine Smith grew up in Mt. Airy, NC, about 40 miles away from her second cousin R.J. R.J. and Katharine had much in common despite the 30 years difference in their ages. Their fathers – Hardin W. Reynolds and Zachary Taylor Smith – were best friends. Both tobacco men were comfortable, if not Rockefeller wealthy. People described the cousins using the same terms: down-to-earth, organized, commanding presence. R.J., a 52-year-old bachelor, wrote to his young cousin in 1903, chiding her for not attending his mother’s funeral. Less than a week later, he and Katharine met in New York. The millionaire soon hired her as a secretary. In 1905, they were married. After a European honeymoon by rail, they set up housekeeping in the town of Winston, which had not yet been united with Salem. Four children came in rapid succession: Richard Joshua Jr., 1906; Mary, 1908; Nancy, 1910; and Zachary Smith, 1911. The couple
