Complex sentence: R.J. worked for his father as a salesman in the family tobacco business and in 1874 he sold his interest to his father and went to Winston, NC, at that time Winston and Salem were separate towns.
Split into simpler sentences: R.J. worked for his father as a salesman in the family tobacco business. In 1874 he sold his interest to his father and went to Winston, NC, at that time Winston and Salem were separate towns.