Joseph Williams Thorne (December 25, 1816 - 1897) was a politician in North Carolina. He was from the North. He was a Quaker.[1] He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate. He was also a delegate at one of the state's constitutional conventions. He wrote poetry.[2]

He was born in Pennsylvania.[3] He succeeded a deceased member of the North Carolina House in 1874.[4] He lived in and represented Warren County.[5]

He was tried according to a statute against legislators denying the existence of almighty God.[6] He was expelled from the North Carolina House of Representatives.[2]

In a letter he stated he was for temperance and against all use of alcohol and never played cards.[7]

During the 1874 session there were four African American state senators and 13 African Americans in the North Carolina House of Representatives, both bodies having large Democratic Party majorities. In 1914, Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac Hamilton as the last "carpetbagger"in the legislature and as someone "not suffered to remain long" in the office he held.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Longley, Max (17 January 2020). Quaker Carpetbagger: J. Williams Thorne, Underground Railroad Host Turned North Carolina Politician. McFarland. ISBN 9781476637747.
  2. ^ a b Johnston, George (December 11, 1890). "The Poets and Poetry of Chester County, Pennsylvania". J.B. Lippincott – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Anderson, Eric (December 1, 1980). Race and Politics in North Carolina, 1872–1901: The Black Second. LSU Press. ISBN 9780807107843 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Hamilton, Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac (October 5, 1914). Reconstruction in North Carolina. Columbia University. ISBN 978-0-231-92554-9 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Representatives, North Carolina General Assembly House of (October 5, 1875). "Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina". M.S. Littlefield – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Thorne, J. Williams, Frederick Douglass papers - PICRYL Public Domain Image". picryl.com.
  7. ^ "Thorne, J. Williams, Frederick Douglass papers". Library of Congress. January 1, 1876.
  8. ^ "Reconstruction in North Carolina". 1914.