J. Williams Thorne was definitely a carpetbagger.

According to the 1883 book "A History of the Underground Railroad in Chester County," the Pennsylvanian—later expelled from the N.C. legislature—was a member of the "Liberty Party," which sought to abolish slavery at the ballot box before the Civil War.

At a political debate in 1850, Thorne was asked if he would help escaped fugitives (p. 131):

"Yes," replied Thorne promptly, "there is nothing in the Constitution to prevent it. The very spirit of the preamble commands that I shall do it."

Author Robert Clemens Smedley says that Thorne "gave assistance to all who came" to his station on the Underground Railroad.

Interestingly, an 1861 book, "The Fugitive Slave Law and Its Victims," (p. 131) describes the kidnapping of a free man who was living in a tenant house owned by Thorne in 1860.

J. Williams Thorne didn't attack God per se, but Christianity.

Harry McKown of the UNC-Chapel Hill Library took a read through a pamphlet written by Thorne after his expulsion from the legislature.

From what he can tell, Thorne originally was responding to a lecture by Rev. Joseph Barker, who said (Thorne's words) that "as a class, those who denied the Divine authority of the Bible, were inferior in morals to those who thus accepted it."

In response, Thorne went after the Christian Church, particularly the evangelical church, and the depiction of God in the Old and New Testament, McKown writes Dome.

Here is one example of his writing:

"As the Christian Church rose in power and influence, civilization declined. And now civilization is advancing in exact proportion as the Church loses its power and influence among men."

More after the jump.

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The New York Times noted J. Williams Thorne's expulsion.

In a Feb. 26, 1875, article, the newspaper noted that the Warren County representative was kicked out for his belief in a "blasphemous doctrine."

Its story says that Thorne's pamphlet denied the existence of God:

The House of Representatives in three night sessions considered a resolution of expulsion of J.W. Thorne, member from Warren County, on account of his non-belief in the existence of God, as set forth in a pamphlet issued by him.

It adds that Thorne was 65 years old and used to live in Chester County, Penn.

Hat Tip: Sam Watts

A Warren County historian was not a fan of J. Williams Thorne.

Manly Wade Wellman does not write much about the expelled legislator in "The County of Warren," a history of Thorne's adopted county.

On page 170, he notes that Thorne and another Radical Republican (who was "considered especially spiteful toward old Confederates") were candidates in 1875:

Thorne was elected, and though in February he was expelled from the State House of Representatives and ejected by the sergeant-at-arms, became high in the councils of the depleted Republican party of the State.

The author tips his hand again later when he writes that a few years later "the chafing rule of carpetbaggers and Radicals was only an unhappy memory."

A footnote also kicks some dirt on Thorne's grave.

"Thorne is almost unremembered in Warren County today," it reads. 

Joseph Williams Thorne was a poet.

The state representative, kicked out in 1875 for advocating "a blasphemous doctrine," was a poet of enough renown that he was featured in "The Poets and Poetry of Chester County, Pennsylvania," for what that's worth.

Thorne, a Pennsylvanian by birth, moved to North Carolina in 1869. In 1875, he was elected to represent Warren County in the House.

Author George Johnston says Thorne was actually expelled "on account of his radical Republicanism"—meaning he was a pro-Reconstruction Northerner.

"Mr. Thorne is a member of the Society of Progressive Friends: the document referred to in the resolution was a pamphlet published by him in reply to a lecture delivered in Coatesville, Chester County, by Joseph Barker, with doctrines advanced to which Mr. Thorne did not agree."

That doesn't exactly clear things up for Dome, although we would hazard that the group was likely Quaker and tolerated all sorts of Northeastern back-and-forth about God that didn't sound too good when dredged up down South.

Interestingly, the legislature later felt bad about kicking him out.

The following year, Thorne was elected to the state Senate. Five years later, the House voted unanimously to expunge the expulsion from the record, Johnston notes.

Hat Tip: Paul Jones

The House Journal for 1875 is not very helpful.

The three-page minutes on the expulsion of Rep. J. Williams Thorne do not elaborate much on the debate that evening.

The matter first came up on Saturday, Feb. 20 (p. 465). The Committee on Privileges and Elections presented a report on Thorne to the full House recommending he be expelled.

After the jump, the rest of the report.

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Why was Rep. J. Williams Thorne expelled in 1875?

Dome is researching the previous legislative expulsions in preparation for this afternoon's meeting by the Select Committee etc. etc. on Rep. Thomas Wright.

According to a draft history by legislative researchers, Rep. Thorne was expelled from the House on Feb. 24, 1875, for advocating a "most sacrilegious doctrine, subversive of the principles of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina and of sound morality and the Constitution of the United States."

A 1995 article by the News & Observer contains this telling note: "Legislative staffers believe the pamphlet was a Darwinist tract."

Readers with good leads on this interesting story can e-mail us at dome@newsobserver.com.

Scott Mooneyham has dug up the goods on the 11 legislators who have been expelled.

The syndicated political columnist writes that Josiah Turner Jr. was supposed to be censured for calling other legislators names, but he got upset listening to the public scolding, let out a few more choice words and left the chamber. That's when he was expelled.

But Mooneyham writes that Turner was not the only one kicked out for unusual reasons.

Among the others kicked out between 1757 and 1880:

* 1809: John Clary of Perquimans County, for having an affair with his stepdaughter.

* 1835: Robert Potter of Granville County, for brandishing a gun and knife during a fight over a card game.

* 1875: J. Williams Thorne, for publishing a pamphlet that questioned the Bible.

For a complete list, click here.