Louis K. Liggett

Louis K. Liggett, drug store magnate, founder of Rexall and chairman of United Drug Company, was born in 1875 in Michigan, and died in 1946 in Massachusetts.

Early life

Louis Kroh Liggett was born April 4, 1875, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of John Templeton Liggett and Julia A. (Kroh) Liggett, his wife. ["Who Was Who in America, Vol. 2, (1943-1950), Chicago:A. N. Marquis Company, 1963, p. 323] His middle name is often erroneously given as "Kohl".

Marriage and family

On June 26, 1895, Louis K. Liggett married Musa Bence, who was born in Michigan on March 19, 1873, the daughter of George W. Bence and Lavinia Bence, his wife. They had three children.

Estate in Chestnut Hill Newton

From 1916 to 1937, Louis Liggett owned and occupied a convert|9|acre|m2|sing=on estate at 185 Hammond Strret in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Massachusetts. The main house, built in 1895, was modeled on Gwydr Hall in Wales. Musa Liggett apparently died in the early 1930s because she is not listed in the Newton city directory after 1931. The estate was donated in 1937 to Cardinal William Henry O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston, who in 1941 donated it to Boston College, which used it to create its Upper Campus. The main house is now known as "O'Connell House" and is the center of the Upper Campus. [http://www.bc.edu/offices/historian/resources/guide/oconnell/] On April 22-23, 1938, the furniture and other property of the late Musa Bence Liggett were sold at auction by Louis K. Liggett's order at American Art Association-Anderson Galleries in New York City.

Later life

In 1937 Louis Liggett moved to 170 Ivy Street, in Brookline, Massachusetts. Louis K. Liggett died on June 5, 1946, and was entombed in the Liggett Mausoleum in Newton Cemetery in Newton.

References

Resources

* "The Rexall Story: A History of Genius and Neglect" by Mickey C. Smith ISBN 0-7890-2472-1