Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire: His Life and Work

by Lawrence Foushee London

CHAPTER III
Saint Peter's Parish

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.