Jonathon Davenport Rudd (February 17, 1840 – April 26, 1920) was an American planter and politician who served four terms in the Texas Legislature.
In the post-war Reconstruction era, he helped organize the Citizens Party and worked to reverse the political gains African Americans had made.
Orphaned at 16, he later moved to Texas with 25-30 inherited slaves and established the Bermuda Farm Plantation near Waskom.
[1] When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Rudd served as a lieutenant in Company G, 14th Texas Cavalry Regiment.
[1] Rudd helped organize the Citizens Party in Harrison County, Texas, in 1878 to restore white control after Republicans came to power during the Reconstruction era,[2] and African Americans - Mitchell Kendall, Meshack Roberts,[3] and others - represented the county in the state house.