As a father Bishop Cheshire won the admiration of everyone who knew him. Each of his three daughters and three sons gave him their wholehearted love, obedience, and respect throughout his lifetime. He gained and held their devotion by his kindness, intelligence, and sympathetic understanding. He was a strict disciplinarian, but always preserved a tolerant and open-minded attitude towards the desires and weaknesses of youth. He treated his sons as men and expected them to act the part.
The Bishop gave his children all the advantages he could afford. Two of his sons were educated at the University of North Carolina, and the third attended the University of the South. His three daughters all went to St. Mary's School. When one of his sons was leaving home to enter college, the Bishop told him that he would not ask him to promise to refrain from forming bad habits at school, such as drinking and gambling, nor would he accept such a promise if his son offered it. He went on to say that he had tried to teach him right from wrong and that his son well knew what things he could do that would make his father happy and proud and those which would make him unhappy and ashamed. He wanted his son to conduct himself as a gentleman, not because of any promises made, but for the sake of decency. The Bishop asked him to remember that he would always stand up for him as long as he was in the right, but he would not defend him for a moment if he were ever guilty of misconduct. This straightforward, manly counsel made a lasting impression upon the son. It was typical of the Bishop's uncompromising and practical way of thinking on moral questions.
CHAPTER VII
Historian
From his youth Bishop Cheshire had been fond of history, and as he grew older, his interest in it developed into a serious avocation. While practicing law in Tarboro, he saw a good deal of his uncle-in-law, ex-Governor Henry Clark, who had a decided taste for history. He had an excellent library to which he made his nephew welcome. Cheshire spent many happy hours browsing among the old books and manuscripts and listening to the conversation of his uncle. Governor Clark had a thorough acquaintance with the early history of North Carolina, particularly that of his own section. In later years Bishop Cheshire said of his uncle: "I have often felt that he had a greater influence than any other person in developing my tastes and inclinations in the direction of historical inquiry."[43]
For his first serious historical composition Cheshire chose a subject with which he was intimately acquainted, the history of the church in Edgecombe County. In a series of articles, under the title, "An Historical Sketch of the Church in Edgecombe County, North Carolina," which appeared in the Church Messenger from August 17 through September 21, 1880, he traced the history of this parish from the colonial period through the rectorate of his father. The sketch is superior to the usual parish history in that it concerned itself with the growth and development of the church in Edgecombe rather than with the genealogy of the families in that county.
When Colonel William L. Saunders was in the process of compiling the Colonial Records of North Carolina, he asked Cheshire to make a collection of documents relating to the colonial Episcopal Church. Cheshire secured from Bishop Perry of Iowa, Historiographer of the Episcopal Church, a large body of material, which he had copied under his personal supervision. Colonel Saunders found the material so interesting and valuable that he incorporated it in its entirety in the several volumes of the Colonial Records. In appreciation of his contribution Cheshire was given a full set of this work. In 1893 Judge Walter Clark, when he began to edit the State Records of North Carolina, wrote Bishop Cheshire: "I beg that you will aid me with your advice, suggestions and information as to what should be published and the best means of procuring materials."[44] This statement well illustrates the high regard in which the Bishop's historical acumen was generally held.
In 1883, in the course of collecting materials for Colonel Saunders, Cheshire visited Philadelphia. While there he examined the records of the Pennsylvania Quakers for information concerning the early Quaker settlements in North Carolina. From his examination of these records he found sufficient evidence to disprove the long-held thesis that the early settlers of North Carolina were religious refugees from New England and Virginia. His conclusion was that the first settlers of the Albemarle section came there primarily for economic reasons and not for religious freedom. He embodied his findings in a pamphlet called "The First Settlers of North Carolina Not Religious Refugees." After reading the monograph, Colonel Saunders wrote Cheshire: "You have not only proved your proposition; You have demonstrated it."[45] Saunders adopted the same interpretation in his preface to the first volume of the Colonial Records. Cheshire's original thesis was further expanded and substantiated by future historians of the state.
In 1882 Cheshire edited and published the documents relating to the four conventions, held between 1790 and 1794, which had made the abortive attempt to set up a diocesan organization in North Carolina. The documents of three of these conventions had never been published before. They threw much light upon an important phase of the early history of the Episcopal Church in North Carolina.
The Diocese recognized Cheshire's ability as an historian by electing him historiographer at the convention of 1884. The convention of 1876 had created this office, and had elected Dr. M. M. Marshall, Rector of Christ Church, Raleigh, the first historiographer. It had also passed a resolution requiring each clergyman to compile a history of his parish. When Cheshire became historiographer eight years later, only a few of the clergy had complied with the resolution. After examining the histories which had been written, he found that, with a few exceptions, they were of no value. Several months after his election, in an article for the Church Messenger, he stressed the importance of preserving local church history. He announced that he was making a collection of old documents and pamphlets on church history for the Diocese, and he requested anyone possessing these materials to send them to him. One of Cheshire's chief contributions as historiographer was the interest he aroused among the churchmen in the history of the church and of their respective parishes.