Cheshire entered upon his work in Charlotte with a feeling that here he had an excellent opportunity for extending the influence of his church, particularly in the missionary field. He did not feel any fear or trepidation at the thought of this larger and more difficult work, although he had no great confidence in his own ability. He went to his new parish with the determination to give to it his best, and throughout his rectorate there he never lost sight of that ideal. When some of his friends heard that he was going to St. Peter's, they told him he was taking over one of the hardest and most undesirable parishes in the Diocese. This was indeed a discouraging description of his new work, but after serving twelve years at St. Peter's, Cheshire remarked that he had found nothing which would justify such a characterization of that parish.
Cheshire did not bring his wife and children to Charlotte at once but left them in Chapel Hill for the summer. During this time he lived with Mr. John Wilkes, the senior warden of the parish, and took his meals at a boarding house. Finding no parish rectory in Charlotte, he bought a house on North Church Street. This purchase took all he had saved from his law practice, plus an additional thousand dollars which he had to borrow. His salary from St. Peter's being twelve hundred dollars a year, he was able to carry a debt of this amount. With a salary this size he felt that he had been "raised to a condition of affluence." In an exuberance of generosity he offered to become responsible for the support of an orphan in one of the foreign mission orphanages. For some reason his proposal was not accepted. It was not long, however, before he found that his salary was little if any above his actual needs.
When Cheshire became rector of St. Peter's there were one hundred and thirty-seven communicants in the parish. Mr. John Wilkes and Colonel Hamilton C. Jones were his senior and junior wardens, respectively. These men were quite different in temperament, but both were sincerely devoted to the welfare of the church. The young rector found in them staunch friends and helpful advisors. One of the first tasks Cheshire set for himself was to visit and become acquainted with each member of his congregation. After making a careful study of the parish register, he purchased a small memorandum book in which he wrote down the full name, age, and church status of each person connected with St. Peter's. By the end of his first summer in Charlotte he had become fairly well acquainted with most of his parishioners.
One of Cheshire's predecessors at St. Peter's was the Rev. Benjamin S. Bronson, rector of the parish from 1867 to 1878. He had been greatly interested in institutional work, and had begun several enterprises in the course of his ministry in Charlotte. None of these, however, was carried to a successful conclusion under his direction. Mr. Bronson's capacity seemed to be limited to merely initiating worth-while projects. His efforts were not futile, for he instilled in his congregation a deep interest in this type of work. Cheshire often said that what he was able to accomplish in Charlotte was due in part to the enthusiasm for institutional work which Mr. Bronson had aroused in his parishioners. He confessed that he did not have the type of mind which readily produced original ideas: "I think I can only methodize and put into practice ideas I get from others."[16] Although he exaggerated his lack of originality, he was strikingly successful in taking a good idea or suggestion and making it work.
When Cheshire came to Charlotte he found one of Mr. Bronson's charities still in existence, although in a sadly neglected condition. This was a four-room house which was known as St. Peter's Home and Hospital. The good work which was being done in a very small way by this institution strongly appealed to Cheshire. He regularly visited the sick there, and soon began to lay plans for enlarging its usefulness. For this purpose he enlisted the aid of a retired clergyman, Rev. Lucian Holmes, who was then conducting in Charlotte a small school for boys. Mr. Holmes visited the people of the city, soliciting contributions ranging from ten cents to one dollar a month. His efforts were successful, and in a comparatively short time the little hospital was assured of a modest monthly income. It was planned that the women on the Board of Managers of the hospital should collect the pledges. Thus, under Cheshire's direction, St. Peter's hospital was firmly established and has continued to grow in usefulness to the community from that time to the present day.
Shortly after becoming rector of St. Peter's, Cheshire began to take an active interest in the church's work among the Negroes. He found among a large Negro population only one communicant. Prior to the Civil War Negroes had worshiped with the whites, sitting in galleries erected for their use. Following the war and reconstruction, however, the church had of necessity been forced to curtail its work among the Negroes. He recognized in this condition an opportunity for a great work. Since his parish was large and demanded the greater part of his time, he asked Bishop Lyman to send him an unmarried clergyman who could devote all his efforts to the Negro work. The Bishop complied with his request, and in the spring of 1882 sent Rev. Charles C. Quin to Charlotte. Quin received a stipend of two hundred dollars a year from the Diocese, which Cheshire supplemented with fifty dollars out of his own pocket. In addition, Quin lived with the Cheshires, who gave him his room and board.
After securing an assistant for the Negro work, Cheshire's next step was to find a place in which to worship. He found an old house in the Negro section of Charlotte, which he bought and remodeled sufficiently to make it serve as a mission. He named the little chapel St. Michael and All Angels. Although Quin was placed in charge of this mission, Cheshire held an evening service there every second Sunday. In this way he was able to keep in personal contact with the congregation.
The work progressed so well that it was not long before the need for a larger church was apparent. Seeing this need, Cheshire solicited contributions for a new church from his parishioners and from various churchmen throughout the Diocese. He sent Quin to Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut with letters to his friends in those states, asking for assistance. Cheshire and Quin were fairly successful in their efforts to raise funds for the new church, and in the spring of 1883 the cornerstone was laid. In the course of the year the nave and chancel were completed, while the transepts were left to be finished at some future time. It was a well-built brick church and large enough to allow for considerable growth in the congregation. It stands today as a testimonial to Cheshire's zeal in advancing the work of the church. Shortly after it was built, Quin resigned and was succeeded by Rev. Primus P. Alston, a colored clergyman, who remained in charge of the parish for over twenty years. St. Michael and All Angels was now practically independent of St. Peter's, although it was still under Cheshire's general direction.
While in the process of establishing St. Michael's, Cheshire was at the same time engaged in another missionary enterprise. He found in a section of Charlotte, known as Mechanicsville, a number of families who were members of the Episcopal Church but were not connected with St. Peter's parish. Seeing an opportunity to extend the work of the parish, he determined to bring the services of the church to these people. He began by establishing a Sunday school in an abandoned schoolhouse in this section. The Sunday school gradually expanded into a little mission, which he called St. Martin's. Not long after the mission was started, the building in which the services were held was destroyed by fire. Not permitting this misfortune to discourage him, he began almost at once to lay plans for the erection of a chapel on the same location.
After negotiating with the Charlotte school board, he was able to buy the property for fifteen hundred dollars, to be paid in three installments. Cheshire himself paid the first installment of five hundred dollars, while two of his parishioners guaranteed the remainder. He procured his part of the cost by selling a lot in Tarboro which his father had given him. When the land was bought, he began the work of raising money for the erection of a chapel. His loyal friend, Mr. John Wilkes, came forward as usual and supported him generously with both time and money. Other friends came to his assistance, and work was soon started on the building. Cheshire organized the Guild of St. Martin to help him in carrying forward the work on the chapel. Some time before it was completed, he began to hold a service in the little church every Sunday night. This service was in addition to three others which he held each Sunday at St. Peter's. Thus, Cheshire had literally built from the ground up the mission of St. Martin's. It maintained a steady growth and in time became one of the larger parishes of the Diocese.
There seems to have been almost no limit to Cheshire's missionary fervor. He was not content to confine his labors to the bounds of Charlotte. Shortly after coming to St. Peter's he visited Monroe, and there he found a number of churchmen who at one time had been served by the rector at Wadesboro. At the request of these churchmen Cheshire gave them a monthly service, being assisted for a time by Mr. Quin. In 1885 the work at Monroe was turned over to Rev. Edwin A. Osborne. During his rectorate at St. Peter's Cheshire also held services from time to time at Rockingham, Mooresville, Mount Mourne, and Davidson College. He did not, however, succeed in establishing a permanent mission at any one of these places. If he had had more time to devote to this distant missionary work, he might have met with better success.
In the fall of 1883 there came to Cheshire an opportunity to do what he later characterized as "the most entirely gratifying and successful work of all my missionary undertakings."[17] Columbus W. McCoy, of Long Creek Township, Mecklenburg County, invited Cheshire to hold a service in his community, stating that a number of people in his neighborhood had manifested an interest in the Episcopal Church. McCoy had formerly been a Presbyterian, but having become acquainted with the Book of Common Prayer, he expressed a desire to join the Episcopal Church. Cheshire accepted the invitation, and on November 18 held his first service there in the community schoolhouse. He passed the night with Mr. McCoy and spent the next day in visiting the people of the neighborhood. He felt that "very little can be accomplished in a new field by merely having a service, even a Sunday service, unless time is given to personal familiar visiting from house to house, to know the people, and to establish some influence among them."[18] He held a second service that night, and returned to Charlotte the following morning. This same procedure was followed in his subsequent visits.
In December Cheshire went again to Long Creek, but in consequence of bad weather, he did not return again until the spring. Beginning in May, 1884, he held monthly services in the Long Creek community. Observing the growing interest of the community in the church, he decided to hold a series of services for them from August 12 through the 16th. He secured the assistance of Rev. Dr. George B. Wetmore and Rev. Mr. Osborne. The services were held in Beach Cliff Schoolhouse and were so well attended that part of the congregation was forced to sit out-of-doors. Cheshire and his assistants took turns in preaching in the morning and evening. In the afternoons they visited those families who had shown an interest in becoming members of the church. In the course of the week they baptized sixteen persons, for the most part children, and at the end of the services fourteen adults signified their desire to be confirmed. At the close of the week's preaching Cheshire was presented with a petition signed by eleven persons who asked that they be organized as a mission under the name of St. Mark's Chapel. This was indeed a successful conclusion to the week's work.
On October 25 Bishop Lyman visited Long Creek and confirmed sixteen persons. Following the confirmation he organized the congregation as a mission to be known as St. Mark's. Cheshire continued his monthly visits to the new mission until January, 1885, at which time he turned this work over to Rev. Edwin A. Osborne, who had already taken charge of Cheshire's congregation in Monroe. Upon assuming this work Mr. Osborne moved from Henderson County to Charlotte. During the remainder of Cheshire's rectorate at St. Peter's, he and Mr. Osborne became intimate friends and co-operated generously in each other's work.
Although Cheshire devoted most of his time and energy to St. Peter's parish and its missions, he did not neglect his duty to the Diocese. He attended all of the diocesan conventions and took an active and significant part in their deliberations. Probably the most important action taken by any convention during his ministry was that relating to the division of the Diocese. The question of dividing the church in North Carolina into two dioceses had been discussed from time to time by the conventions since the election in 1873 of Bishop Lyman as assistant bishop. Bishop Atkinson had favored a division at one time, but when the question was placed squarely before the convention of 1877, he came out strongly against it. The large number of clergy and laity who favored division dropped the proposal for the time-being out of deference to Bishop Atkinson, who, they felt, did not have much longer to serve. Upon his death in January, 1881, the question was again brought forward. At the convention of 1882, held in Calvary Church, Tarboro, Dr. M. M. Marshall, rector of Christ Church, Raleigh, introduced resolutions declaring the sentiment of the people on division and calling for a committee to consider proposals for the erection of a new diocese. The convention approved Dr. Marshall's resolutions, and the Bishop appointed a special committee to report upon the subject.
After some study of the proposal this committee submitted a majority report calling for a division of the Diocese. Bishop Lyman, who during Bishop Atkinson's life-time had advocated the formation of a new diocese, now reversed his position. Upon hearing the report of the special committee, the Bishop delivered "an impassioned attack upon the report."[19] The opposition of the Bishop led to a long and, at times, acrimonious discussion. When the question was finally voted upon, the committee's report was adopted by a large majority of the clergy and laity. The convention appointed a committee of clergymen and laymen to confer with the Bishop upon the details of the division, to obtain his consent, and to report to the next diocesan convention. Cheshire was made a member of this committee.
St. Peter's parish, Charlotte, was host to the diocesan convention of 1883. The most pressing and important business of this convention was the question of forming a new diocese. On the second day the Committee on Conference with the Bishop made its report. The committee stated that after a consultation with the Bishop it found that he was opposed to a division of the Diocese because he felt that one bishop in good health could do the work for the entire state, and that the church in North Carolina was not financially able to support two bishops and two diocesan organizations. The Bishop told the committee, however, that he would consent to the erection of a new diocese provided a large majority of clergy and laity desired it, the line of division to be satisfactory to him, and the permanent funds to be divided equally between the two dioceses. Following the report the convention voted on the question: forty-two clergymen voted for division, and eleven against; twenty-nine parishes voted for, and ten against. Cheshire voted for the creation of a new diocese, as he had done in the convention the year before.
When the question of a territorial division came up for discussion, Cheshire moved that the new diocese be composed of the counties of Hertford, Bertie, Martin, Pitt, Greene, Wayne, Sampson, Cumberland, and Robeson, and all that part of the state located between those counties and the Atlantic coast. Cheshire later withdrew his motion when the special Committee on a Line of Division presented an amended report which embodied in substance his recommendation. The convention unanimously adopted the amended report. Cheshire was in favor of placing the counties of Edgecombe and Halifax in the eastern Diocese and retaining Cumberland in the old Diocese. When he saw, however, that Bishop Lyman would not give up Edgecombe and Halifax, he recommended that Cumberland should be included in the new division. This was the arrangement finally adopted.
After an agreement had been reached on the line of demarcation, Cheshire offered the following resolutions: (1) that the convention of 1883 ratify the work of the convention of 1882 relative to a division of the Diocese; (2) that the Bishop of the Diocese and the General Convention of the church be requested to give their consent to this procedure; and (3) that all the securities and properties of the church in North Carolina be equally divided between the two dioceses, as should be agreed upon by a committee representing both. Cheshire's resolutions were voted upon separately, and were all adopted. Following their approval the convention received a letter from Bishop Lyman announcing his consent to the formation of a new diocese. Thus was decided an important, and vexing, problem of the church in North Carolina.
The convention of 1883 was the first in which Cheshire had taken a significant part, but from that time forward his influence and counsel became increasingly important. He was made chairman of the committee on the division of diocesan properties. His committee had a difficult task in dividing the permanent funds of the church to the satisfaction of both dioceses. The problem caused a few very bitter discussions in several succeeding conventions. Cheshire usually led the discussions, often taking the side of the new diocese against Bishop Lyman and a majority in the convention. More often than not he won his point, since his opponents rarely took the pains to make themselves fully acquainted with the facts. Cheshire was sometimes accused of being discourteous in his manner towards the Bishop when they disagreed. It can be fairly said, however, that he was never intentionally so. In a letter to the Bishop he remarked that he often spoke excitedly and impetuously upon any subject about which he felt very strongly, and that this characteristic was sometimes interpreted as discourtesy.[20] Cheshire had the highest respect for Bishop Lyman and admired him both as a bishop and a man. Nevertheless, it was almost inevitable that two such decided and forthright characters as Lyman and Cheshire should have pronounced disagreements.
One of Cheshire's most valuable contributions to the diocesan conventions was his services on the Committee on Canons. He was a member of this committee from 1884 through 1893, with the exception of 1887-88, serving as its chairman for several years. He made himself thoroughly acquainted with the canons of the church, and while serving on the committee, he did most of its work. During these years debates on the canons occupied much of the time of the annual conventions. Long after becoming bishop, Cheshire remarked that he was happy to observe that this was no longer true, and that "We have come to be interested in more important business." He did not mean to belittle the value of canonical law, but rather to emphasize the importance of other work.
In 1887 Cheshire made a revision of the canons, expecting the convention of that year to call for a revisal. He also carefully annotated the canons and the articles of the diocesan constitution. The convention of 1887 did call for a revision to be made and be presented to it the next year. However, Cheshire was "surprised and disappointed" when the Bishop did not reappoint him to the Committee on Canons. Hearing of the work Cheshire had already done on the canons, Dr. Kemp P. Battle suggested that he should present to the next convention his revision as a substitute for the one to be proposed by the committee. Cheshire decided to follow this suggestion. When the committee presented its report to the convention of 1888, he rose to say that he had prepared a revision of the canons the year before and had been advised by some of his friends to offer it as a substitute. Several requests were made from the floor that he should explain his work. Following his explanation a motion was made that his revisal be adopted in place of that of the Committee on Canons. The motion was carried by a large majority, and after making several minor changes, the convention adopted Cheshire's revision. Its action was a signal tribute to the high character of Cheshire's work.
From time to time Cheshire served on other regular and special committees. He was a member of the Executive Missionary Committee from 1885 to 1891, and a member of the Board of Managers of the Thompson Orphanage from 1886 through 1893. In all his activities he manifested a zealous interest in the affairs of the Diocese. In consequence of his work in the diocesan conventions and his productive ministry in Charlotte, he came to be recognized as one of the outstanding clergymen of the state.
Cheshire's first personal contact with the work of the church outside of North Carolina was with the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. Feeling that the churchmen of his Diocese displayed an unwarrantable lack of interest in the welfare of the University of the South, he resolved to bring to their attention the needs and opportunities of the institution. In 1885 he made an appeal for support of the school in the columns of the Church Messenger. He wrote personal letters to prominent churchmen, and made addresses on behalf of the University in as many parishes as he could conveniently reach. His voluntary efforts met with some success. Perceiving Cheshire's active interest in the school, Dr. Jarvis Buxton, clerical trustee for the University from the Diocese of North Carolina, resigned this position at the convention of 1885. Dr. Buxton then nominated Cheshire to succeed him, and the convention unanimously confirmed his nomination. From 1887 until he was elected bishop he attended every meeting of the trustees. During this period Cheshire formed many lasting friendships with the trustees and professors he met at Sewanee. These associations gave him a better understanding of the church's work outside of his Diocese.
The diocesan convention further recognized Cheshire's ability by electing him one of the clerical deputies to the Triennial General Convention of 1886. He was re-elected a deputy to the succeeding conventions of 1889 and 1892. As far as the journals reveal, he did not take an active part in any of these meetings. It was characteristic of him to have little to say in a body of which he was a new member until he had become thoroughly acquainted with its personnel and procedure. At the General Convention of 1889 he was made a member of the Missionary Council and was re-elected to the Council in 1892. Attendance upon these conventions further broadened his knowledge of the work of the national church and brought him into contact with many of its prominent figures.
In consequence of his energetic parochial work and his active participation in diocesan affairs, Cheshire received, during his rectorate at St. Peter's, several calls to other parishes. In September, 1888, the vestry of Calvary Church, Tarboro, asked him to become their rector to succeed his father, who wished to retire. Cheshire refused the call. It is to be supposed that he preferred the larger opportunities offered in Charlotte, but his personal papers do not reveal why he rejected the invitation. Writing to him concerning his refusal, Bishop Lyman stated that he was pleased to learn that Cheshire was to remain in Charlotte, and that he recognized "how great a calamity it would have been to the interest of the Church, in your own, and in the adjacent counties, had you decided to resign your present position. I am sure, too, that your determination to remain will greatly strengthen the hearts of those around you, and greatly increase your powers of usefulness."[21] This commendation of his work by Bishop Lyman, who was not inclined to give excessive praise, must have been encouraging to Cheshire. Three years later he received a call from the vestry of St. Paul's Church, Macon, Georgia. They offered him a rectory and a salary of sixteen hundred dollars a year, but he also declined this call.
The most complimentary consideration Cheshire received, prior to 1893, was in the summer of 1891. At that time Rev. Henry Lucas, rector of St. Mark's Church, Brunswick, Georgia, in behalf of himself and several other clergymen, wrote Cheshire to ask if he had any objection to his name being used as a nominee for bishop of Georgia. Lucas stated that the diocesan convention of Georgia was to meet on July 1, in Macon, to elect a bishop. Cheshire replied that if he were elected by the convention he would be "on the whole unwilling to accept." The Georgia convention met and elected a bishop, but Cheshire's name was not placed in nomination because the delegates did not wish to risk a refusal. Rev. A. W. Dodge, a member of the convention, wrote Cheshire: "I think we could have elected you without any great difficulty if you had been willing to serve us."[22] In none of his writings examined does Cheshire give an explanation of his unwillingness to become bishop of Georgia. His love for North Carolina and its people and a sincere conviction that he should devote his life to the work of the church in this state is probably the best explanation of his decision.
During these years in which Cheshire was assuming a greater share of diocesan work, his parochial and missionary duties in and outside of Charlotte were not neglected. The only serious criticism of his services which was brought to his attention by his parishioners was that the missions in Iredell and Mecklenburg counties demanded too much of his time. Cheshire, however, maintained that in serving the rural missions he was at the same time building up St. Peter's, since the missions would eventually furnish many new members to the town parish. In spite of this criticism, he continued his missionary and institutional work. In 1885 and 1886 he gave wholehearted assistance to Rev. Edwin A. Osborne in establishing the Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte as a diocesan institution. The last parochial enterprise of St. Peter's Church in which he participated was the founding of the Good Samaritan Hospital for Negroes. The movement for the hospital was initiated by Mrs. John Wilkes, with whom Cheshire co-operated in every way. He devoted much time to raising the money for the purchase of a lot. In 1888 he laid the cornerstone of the hospital and three years later officiated at its formal opening. The Good Samaritan was the first hospital for Negroes to be established in North Carolina.
In the course of his pastorate in Charlotte Cheshire was on the friendliest of terms with the ministers of the other denominations, although he sometimes strongly differed with them. He was a member of the local Ministerial Association, serving for a time as its vice-president. The association often passed resolutions inviting popular preachers to hold revivals in Charlotte. Cheshire, not in sympathy with professional revivalists, customarily opposed this procedure.
When the association once invited the well-known preacher, Sam Jones, to hold a series of services in Charlotte for ten days, all the ministers except Cheshire closed their churches during the revival. At the time, he was criticized rather severely for his lack of co-operation. Some eighteen months later Jones announced he was returning for a second revival, although he had received no invitation. Hearing of his plans, the Baptist pastor, at the next meeting of the Ministerial Association, proposed a resolution that the ministers of the town should not close their churches during Jones' visit, nor co-operate with him. He declared that, while his church had gained a good many members immediately following the revivalist's services, most of them had by this time deserted him, and the whole effect of Jones' preaching had been to lower and demoralize the religious life of his congregation. The other ministers concurred in his opinion. Cheshire, however, objected to the resolution on the grounds that he would not oppose any man who, as far as he knew, was "honestly trying to preach the Gospel as he understood it." He opposed it also as a matter of policy, since, in his opinion, nothing would please Jones more than to be able to say that "a lot of little two-by-four preachers got together, and voted to keep Sam Jones out of Charlotte."[23] Cheshire's argument convinced the other clergymen that he was right, and the resolution was dropped. The incident well illustrates his keen sense of fairness and good judgment.
Cheshire's domestic and social life in Charlotte was happy and interesting. Although his salary was not large, he was able to make his family reasonably comfortable. When he and Mrs. Cheshire left Chapel Hill, they had two children, Elizabeth and Sarah. During their twelve years in Charlotte four other children were born to them—Joseph Blount, Annie, Godfrey, and James Webb. This was a large family to support on a clergyman's salary, but by good management they were able to make their life pleasant. The Cheshires were hospitable people and enjoyed entertaining their friends. The Dean of the Convocation of Charlotte and the Diocesan Evangelist, as well as many other visiting clergymen, usually stayed with them when visiting St. Peter's parish.
Cheshire made many friends in Charlotte outside of his congregation as well as among his parishioners. He accomplished a great deal in building up a more friendly attitude on the part of the other denominations towards the Episcopal Church. The fearless and positive stand he always took on questions involving the principles and policies of his church, while antagonizing some people for a time, in the end won him many admirers and the respect of all.
When Cheshire resigned his rectorate of St. Peter's in 1893 to become assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, he left in the parish a record difficult for any future rector to equal. In the course of his twelve years at St. Peter's he had increased its membership from one hundred and thirty-seven to two hundred and sixty-three. He organized and established St. Martin's parish, St. Michael and All Angels' mission for Negroes, St. Mark's mission at Mecklenburg, and St. Paul's mission at Monroe. He sponsored the building of St. Peter's and the Good Samaritan hospitals, and assisted Rev. E. A. Osborne in establishing the Thompson Orphanage. These were significant accomplishments for a rectorate of twelve years. But as almost everyone else, Cheshire also experienced some failures. In his attempts to establish missions at Rockingham, Mooresville, and Mount Mourne, he had not been successful. However, balanced against his successes, these failures seem small.