Theodore Benedict Lyman was elected assistant bishop of North Carolina in 1873, and upon the death of Bishop Thomas Atkinson in 1881 he assumed the control of the Diocese. In 1891 he celebrated in Christ Church, Raleigh, the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. By this time the Bishop had begun to show signs that the duties of his office were becoming too arduous for his failing strength. It was not until two years later, however, that he felt that he must ask for assistance in his Episcopal duties. When the diocesan convention met in Christ Church, Raleigh, on May 17, 1893, Bishop Lyman brought to the attention of the body his failing health and the necessity of conserving his strength. He stated he would welcome any suggestions on the subject the convention saw fit to make. The subject of assisting the Bishop was taken under consideration immediately, and a committee was appointed to study how best this might be accomplished.
The following day this committee recommended, in the form of several resolutions, that Bishop Lyman should be relieved of a part of his official work by the election of an assistant bishop; that when the convention completed its present session it should adjourn to meet again in Raleigh on June 27 to elect an assistant bishop; and that the present convention should take steps towards determining a salary for the new office. The resolutions were adopted in their entirety.
Before taking up the proceedings of the adjourned convention, it is interesting to consider here some views Cheshire once expressed on the Episcopate in North Carolina. In 1891 a friend wrote him asking who he thought would make a good successor to Bishop Lyman. In reply to this query, Cheshire remarked that he did not approve of anyone's expressing an arbitrary opinion as to the choice of a bishop for this Diocese, but since that was what his friend desired, he would offer some suggestions. He declared that Dr. Francis J. Murdoch, Rector of St. Luke's, Salisbury, was his first choice, and characterized him as a learned, noble, and lovable man. His second and third choices were the Rev. Robert S. Barrett, of Atlanta, and the Rev. Mr. Winchester, of Nashville. Above everything, said Cheshire, "We want a plain man—one who can come down to the plain people of our country." He did not suggest anyone above the age of fifty, since he thought it was better to choose a clergyman "rather under than above his prime." Speaking in general of the election of bishops, Cheshire observed: "I really, and in all seriousness, think that there is something providential in the choice of a man to the office of Bishop. The best men are so often those who were hardly thought of beforehand—sometimes hardly heard of."[24] To illustrate his point, he cited the elections of Bishops Ravenscroft, of North Carolina, Whipple, of Minnesota, and Jackson, of Alabama. These observations are particularly interesting, coming as they did only two years before the proposed election of an assistant bishop.
When the adjourned convention convened in Christ Church on June 27, Bishop Lyman gave his canonical consent to the election of an assistant bishop. The convention then provided that the new office should carry with it an annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars.
At the afternoon session the doors of the convention were closed, and nominations for an assistant bishop by the clergy were in order. The clergymen nominated were Rev. Nathaniel H. Harding, Dr. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., Rev. T. M. N. George, Dr. Francis J. Murdoch, Dr. Matthias M. Marshall, and Rev. Robert S. Barrett. It is significant that all of these candidates, with the exception of R. S. Barrett, of Atlanta, were clergymen resident in North Carolina. It is also of interest that Murdoch and Cheshire, who were to be the two most important candidates, nominated each other. In his nomination speech Dr. Murdoch said: "The good shepherd knows his sheep. This is pre-eminently true of Dr. Cheshire. He knows the people of North Carolina, their history, their relationships, better perhaps than any other person living."[25]
Under the rules of the convention the clergy elects a bishop by a two-thirds vote of their number. Their choice is then submitted to the laity, who either ratify or reject it. In this convention twenty-nine votes was the necessary majority for election.
On the first three ballots, although all candidates received some votes, Cheshire led each time. But after the third ballot, the contest was narrowed down to Cheshire, Barrett, and Murdoch. Cheshire remained ahead through the sixth ballot; Murdoch then took the lead, which he held, with the exception of five ballots, through the twenty-fourth. During this balloting, Barrett led all candidates twice and tied with Murdoch for the highest number three times. After the twenty-fourth ballot Cheshire asked to be excused from further attendance. He explained that he had expected the convention to last only one day and had accordingly promised to marry a friend on the twenty-eighth.[26] He was excused, and without further balloting the convention adjourned at eleven-thirty in the evening.
The following morning balloting was resumed, with Murdoch continuing to hold his lead. On the twenty-ninth ballot the Rev. Arthur S. Lloyd, of Norfolk, Virginia, was nominated and remained in the contest until the end. From the thirty-second through the thirty-fifth ballots Cheshire did not receive a single vote; while from the thirty-sixth through the thirty-eighth he received only one vote on each. Before the thirty-seventh was taken, Rev. W. S. Barrows moved that if no one was elected within the next two ballots, the clergy should retire from the convention for a conference. His motion was carried. Since no election took place, the clergy repaired to Christ Church chapel for prayer and conference.
There was a small minority in the convention, numbering ten or twelve clergymen, who were opposed to electing anyone from the Diocese of North Carolina. This minority held the balance between the stronger candidates and thus prevented an election. All attempts to compromise with the minority on some candidate other than Murdoch or Cheshire failed. Thereupon, when the clergy met in the chapel, it was agreed that they should arrive at a choice by the process of elimination. After several votes were taken, the selection lay between Cheshire and Murdoch. The supporters of both men then agreed to vote in the convention for the one who received the highest vote in this conference. When the votes were counted, it was found that Cheshire led by a majority of one. The clergy then re-entered the church and took the thirty-ninth ballot, which resulted in twenty-nine votes for Cheshire, seven for Lloyd, and five scattered. The laity quickly confirmed the choice of the clergy by a vote of twenty-four to seven; whereupon the Bishop declared Rev. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., elected assistant bishop of the Diocese and appointed a committee to notify him of his election.
After performing the promised marriage ceremony, Cheshire went to High Point to spend the night. When he arrived, he found several telegrams from friends congratulating him upon his election. Describing his reaction to the news, he said that he "could not comprehend what they meant, and thought there must be some mistake. I was more deeply agitated than I could have anticipated." The following day he wrote his father: "The one thing in the election at Raleigh which gives me unmixed satisfaction is the knowledge that it would be a happiness to you and to mother. In every other respect my feelings are of so confused a kind that I hardly know myself what to do or say.... I feel that this election has its human cause and origin in your life-long labor for the church, and in the name and good will of our people which I have derived from you and not made for myself."[27] This sincere statement of his thoughts about his election was characteristic of Cheshire. He felt profoundly the great responsibility which had been placed upon him, and wrote a friend that he could never have undertaken it had he not felt that he had the "sympathy, co-operation, and prayer"[28] of his people.
The month following his election Cheshire received more than two hundred letters and telegrams of congratulation. They came from clergymen and laymen in and outside of North Carolina, and a great many were from persons who were not members of the Episcopal Church. One of the most common sentiments found in these letters was the pleasure and gratification expressed at the election of a North Carolinian as assistant bishop. It is a noteworthy fact that Cheshire was the first native clergyman of the state to be elected to the Episcopate of the Diocese of North Carolina.
Dr. Francis J. Murdoch, as well as many of his adherents, sent their sincere congratulations. In a circular letter to his supporters, thanking them for their efforts in his behalf, Dr. Murdoch said of Cheshire: "The election has ended as I wished. Other men may tremble as to the outcome. I have not one misgiving. Neither love for Dr. Cheshire nor prejudice against any man can warp my judgment in this matter. I say now (as I said when I nominated him) that we have made no mistake."[29] This warm praise from a man of Dr. Murdoch's high character and ability must have been very encouraging to Cheshire.
An amusing and interesting tribute to Cheshire's election as assistant bishop were some verses by Rev. John E. C. Smedes. Dr. Smedes, a former clergyman of the Diocese, had been one of Cheshire's examiners for deacon's orders and had presented him for ordination as priest. His lines are as follows:
Congratulations to a Bishop-elect
Shortly after his election Cheshire received an invitation from the vestry of Calvary Church, Tarboro, to have his consecration service held there. He accepted the invitation and selected October 15 as the date. It was indeed fitting that he should be consecrated in the church which his father had served for a half century and in which he himself had been brought up and ordained to the diaconate.
On the day of Cheshire's consecration the little town of Tarboro was taxed almost to its capacity to take care of the out-of-town people who had come for the service. About thirty clergymen from the dioceses of North Carolina and East Carolina were present. The service began at eleven in the morning. The ecclesiastical procession, headed by seven bishops and the bishop-elect, entered the church singing the hymn "The Church's One Foundation." Rt. Rev. T. U. Dudley, Bishop of Kentucky, preached the sermon. Bishop Lyman was the consecrator, assisted by Bishops Watson, of East Carolina, and Capers, of South Carolina. Cheshire was presented by Bishop Weed, of Florida, and Bishop Sessums, of Louisiana. The venerable Bishop Quintard, of Tennessee, also took part in the service. All of the bishops joined in the laying on of hands. During the service the choir sang the anthem "How Beautiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of Them that Publish Good Tidings," composed by Rev. Dr. M. A. Curtis. It is interesting to note that this anthem was sung at the ordination of Dr. J. B. Cheshire, Sr., in 1840 and at the ordination of Rev. J. B. Cheshire, Jr., in 1880. The service closed with the singing of the recessional "Holy, Holy, Holy." It was a beautiful and impressive ceremony, but its beauty was marred for Cheshire by the absence of his father, who was not well enough to attend.
Bishop Cheshire's first episcopal act was to hold an evening service in Tarboro, the night of his consecration, at St. Luke's Chapel for Negroes. He did not lose any time in assuming the duties of his new office. While in Tarboro he made several visitations in Edgecombe and Halifax counties. On October 23 he and his family returned to Charlotte, but he did not tarry long. A few days later he set out for the mountains of North Carolina, where he spent a month visiting the scattered churches and missions in that section. Returning from the mountains, he continued his visitations until he was suddenly called to Raleigh on December 13 by the death of Bishop Lyman, who had been in greatly enfeebled health for the past few months.
The death of Bishop Lyman placed the Assistant Bishop in full charge of the Diocese of North Carolina. The few weeks of work Bishop Cheshire had had under the direction and advice of the senior bishop stood him in good stead now that he had the sole responsibility for episcopal guidance of the Diocese.