Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire: His Life and Work

by Lawrence Foushee London

It was eleven o'clock one morning in the middle of September, 1869, when Joseph Blount Cheshire stepped into a classroom to teach a course in Latin. Before him sat six boys, several of them older than himself. He was only nineteen years old, and he was about to begin his first job. The school was St. Clement's Hall at Ellicott City, Maryland, and the assignment for that day was one in Sallust. About all young Cheshire could recall of that particular passage was its being one of the most difficult he had ever tried to translate. He was faced with the alternative of bluffing his way through or frankly confessing to the boys that he was thoroughly unprepared to teach the assignment. So, boldly facing his class, he declared: "Young gentlemen, it is many years since I last looked into Sallust, and this passage, Caesar's speech, I remember as the most difficult passage in this book. I am not prepared to deal with it today, but I will endeavor to be ready for you tomorrow."

This was a rule of life which he followed consistently, to deal frankly and honestly with every situation, no matter what it might cost him personally. Complete fearlessness was one of Bishop Cheshire's most pronounced characteristics. In his announced views on public questions, in the administration of his diocese, and in his historical writings, his courage was often manifested. His was not, however, a character which could be described in a few striking phrases. The man can best be understood by observing his deeds as they developed from early youth until the end of a long life of four score and two years.

In the mid-nineteenth century the quiet little town of Tarboro, North Carolina, was like many other small towns to be found in the Old South. It was one of the oldest places in the state, having been founded in the colonial period and given the distinction of a borough town. Tarboro contained a fairly large number of old established families and a few persons of some prominence in the state. Not the least of these was the Rev. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church, a man who exemplified in his life and work the best traditions of the Episcopal clergy.

Dr. Cheshire came of an old North Carolina family which for several generations had lived in the Albemarle section. One of his ancestors was Joseph Blount, who was a member of the first vestry of St. Paul's parish, Edenton. His parents, John Cheshire and Elizabeth Blount, lived in Edenton, where he was born in December, 1814. He received his education at the Edenton Academy and at the Episcopal School for Boys. The latter school had just been founded by Bishop Ives and was located in Raleigh on the site where now stands St. Mary's Junior College. After completing his course at the Episcopal School, he took up the study of law in Raleigh under the supervision of Thomas P. Devereux. In 1836 he was admitted to the bar, but he evidently did not find the law congenial to his tastes, for he soon abandoned it. He decided to enter the ministry, and in 1838 began his studies for that field of work under the direction of Bishop Ives.

During his preparation for the ministry he made the acquaintance of the botanist and clergyman, Dr. M. Ashley Curtis. The interest which Dr. Curtis stimulated in him for plants and flowers bore abundant fruit. The beautiful grounds surrounding Calvary Church stand today as a living expression of his love for flowers and shrubs.

By February, 1840, Dr. Cheshire had advanced sufficiently far in his theological studies to be ordained deacon by Bishop Ives. The Bishop placed him in charge of the parishes at Halifax and Windsor. The next year he was ordained priest and was given Calvary Church, Tarboro, in addition to his other work. Shortly after taking over this work he organized a mission at Scotland Neck, which in time became Trinity parish. Three parishes and a mission was a large assignment for a young clergyman, but Dr. Cheshire was not daunted by the extent of his duties. From the first his chief interest was in the work at Tarboro. In consequence of this and the desire of the Calvary Church people for more of his time, he gave up the church at Halifax in 1848 and the one at Windsor the following year. He retained his work at Scotland Neck, however, until 1869. His pastorate at Calvary Church continued for more than half a century. During this long rectorship a beautiful new church was built, to which he himself contributed generously.

Dr. Cheshire will probably be best remembered in the history of the American Episcopal Church for the part he played in healing the breach between the northern and southern branches of the church following the close of the Civil War. He waged a determined fight in the diocesan convention of 1865 to send deputies to the General Convention to be held that fall in Philadelphia. The advocates of reconciliation were successful, and Dr. Cheshire was elected one of the deputies to the General Convention. At Philadelphia he used all his influence in helping to bring about the reunion of the church.

Two years after he took charge of Calvary parish, Dr. Cheshire was married to Elizabeth Toole Parker, daughter of Theophilus Parker, his senior warden, and Mary Toole Parker. The next most important event in his life was the birth of his son and namesake, Joseph Blount, who was born on March 27, 1850. In the course of time Dr. and Mrs. Cheshire had five other children, Theophilus Parker, John, Elizabeth, Annie Gray, and Katherine Drane. John and Elizabeth, however, died in their second year.

Joseph Blount was born in the house built many years before by his grandfather, Theophilus Parker. His father and mother had lived in it since their marriage and had come into its possession after the death of his grandfather. When Joseph was born his parents' household consisted of themselves, his grandmother, an aunt, and two cousins. With the subsequent births of his brothers and sisters his family was indeed a large one. The give and take of a large family probably played some part in the development of the tolerant and unselfish character which so distinguished him in manhood.

Young Cheshire received his earliest education under the direction of his mother, who taught him reading, writing, and something about numbers. He did not attend a formal school until he was nine years old. However, he found himself to be "quite as far advanced in the knowledge of books as the most forward" of his companions. The school he first attended in Tarboro was taught by Rev. and Mrs. Owen. It was while attending this school that he and Richard Lewis met one another and formed a friendship which grew and continued for more than three-score years.