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.
CHAPTER IV
Election to the Episcopate
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.