Thomas Jefferson Rusk - Nacogdoches, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 31° 36.229 W 094° 39.343
15R E 342929 N 3497713
Lawyer, businessman, soldier and statesman - (1803-1857)
Waymark Code: WMWFJ0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/28/2017
Views: 3
Bronze statue is less than life size. Artist was Paula Devereaux-Kurth. Statue was placed in 1999. The statue shows him walking with a cane in his right hand and a folder in his left. He is dressed in a long frock coat, vest, and shirt with a bowtie under his chin. He is unsmiling, with short hair and clean shaven face.
wikipedia
Rusk was born in Pendleton, South Carolina, to John Rusk, a stonemason, and Mary Sterritt Rusk. After being admitted to the bar in 1825, Rusk began his law practice in Clarkesville, Georgia. In 1827, he married Mary F. (Polly) Cleveland, the daughter of General John Cleveland. Rusk became a business partner of his father-in-law after the marriage.
He went to Texas in 1835, applied for a headright in David G. Burnet's colony, and sent for his family. After hearing Nacogdoches citizens denounce the despotism of Mexico, Rusk became involved in the independence movement.
He became an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first Secretary of War as well as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a US politician and served as a Senator from Texas from 1846 until his suicide. He served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1857.