Potter's bad luck at cards

Robert Potter was kicked out of the state House over a card game.

The Granville County lawyer served in the state House in 1826 and 1827, and then was elected to Congress in 1828. He had to step down, however, after he was convicted of assaulting two Methodist ministers.

During his three years in jail, Potter launched another campaign, and he was elected to the state House again in 1834, according to a Nov. 18, 1939, article in The State magazine.

His career didn't last long:

On Christmas night, 1834, Potter engaged in a game of cards with Carney Cotton, member of the House of Commons from Chatham County, and after suffering heavy losses he seized all the money on the table and covering Cotton with a pistol, got away with it.

Potter was expelled by a vote of 62-42 on Jan. 2, 1835. He moved to Texas, where he served as secretary of the Texas Navy and signed the state's constitution.

He was later killed by an armed mob that showed up at his house one night, but that's another state's history.

Hat Tip: Lamara Hackett