Henry Knox Left Bankrupt Estate

American Revolutionary War general Henry Knox gave his name to Kentucky's Fort Knox, beside the U.S. Bullion Depository that stores much of the nation's gold. After retiring to Thomaston, Maine, in 1795, Knox borrowed heavily for lumbering, shipbuilding, livestock, brickmaking, and land speculation, but many of those ventures failed. He had started repaying his debts when a swallowed chicken bone lodged in his throat and caused a fatal infection, killing him on October 25, 1806. Knox's death left his estate effectively bankrupt, forcing his wife Lucy to sell more family property to pay creditors.

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