Transcriber's Note:
Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Hyphenation has been
rationalised.
Small capitals have been replaced by full capitals. Italics are
indicated by _underscores_.
Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire
[_Photograph by Bayard Wootten_
BISHOP JOSEPH BLOUNT CHESHIRE
_From a portrait by Mrs. Arthur Nash, in the possession of Miss Sarah
Cheshire, Raleigh, North Carolina._]
Bishop
JOSEPH BLOUNT CHESHIRE
His Life and Work
BY LAWRENCE FOUSHEE LONDON, PH.D.
_Historiographer of the Diocese of North Carolina_
Chapel Hill
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
1941
COPYRIGHT, 1941,
BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
DESIGNED BY STEFAN SALTER
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY THE AMERICAN BOOK-STRATFORD PRESS, INC., NEW YORK
_Foreword_
By EDWIN A. PENICK, Bishop of North Carolina
One of the many characteristics for which Bishop Cheshire is remembered
by his friends and admirers was his uncompromising adherence to the last
letter of truth. An inaccurate or careless remark often brought forth
from him a startling correction. His own historical papers were loyal to
such facts as patient research could discover. His official documents
were models of lucidity and precision. His counsel was penetrating and
true and bracing like fresh air in a stuffy room. His conversation,
particularly when he was describing the very human traits of men and
women he had known, was full of delightful surprises because of his
breathtaking forthrightness. He even carried in his pocketbook an exact
paper pattern of a huge mountain trout he once caught as documentary
evidence of his best fish story.
This characteristic of Bishop Cheshire must have been in the author's
mind when he wrote the following pages. I believe that the good Bishop
would approve this biography for its restraint and disciplined
faithfulness to the record of a true life.
Ravenscroft
Raleigh, North Carolina
February 10, 1941.
_Preface_
From my earliest memories I can recall the annual visits of Bishop
Cheshire to the home of my parents. As very young boys my brothers and I
were fond of looking at him, for with his flowing white beard and rather
stocky figure, he appeared a perfect embodiment of Santa Claus. He
readily gained our confidence with his frank and open manner and his
keen understanding of the sort of things children were interested in. As
I grew older he won my complete affection and admiration. With his many
relatives and friends throughout North Carolina, I felt particularly
honored when he wrote me letters from England during his visit there in
1920. The multiplicity of such personal attentions was one of his
characteristics which gained for him the lasting affection of his
people.
Although I have felt inadequate to the task of writing Bishop Cheshire's
life, I have found the work a labor of love and a distinct privilege.
Some persons will undoubtedly be disappointed that more stories of and
about the Bishop have not been included. The use of many of his
anecdotes has purposefully been avoided, since most of them are much
more delightfully told by the Bishop himself in his charming volume of
reminiscences, _Nonnulla_. My primary object has been to present his
accomplishments as deacon, priest, and bishop. His work in these periods
of his career merits preservation in some permanent form for its own
sake as well as for the benefit of future churchmen. Also, an attempt
has been made to portray the Bishop's dynamic personality and its
striking influence upon the character of his work and of his human
contacts.
I wish to gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance given me by Mr.
Joseph B. Cheshire, Miss Sarah Cheshire, and Mr. James W. Cheshire in
reading this work and for the generous loan of invaluable manuscripts. I
also wish to express my appreciation to my wife, Emily Dewey, for her
untiring help in criticizing and reworking the manuscript, and to Bishop
Edwin Anderson Penick and Rev. Alfred S. Lawrence for reading the work.
_Lawrence F. London_
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
December 1, 1940.
_Contents_
PAGE
FOREWORD, BY BISHOP EDWIN A. PENICK v
PREFACE vii
CHAPTER
I YOUTH AND MANHOOD 1
II DEACON AND PRIEST 18
III SAINT PETER'S PARISH 27
IV ELECTION TO THE EPISCOPATE 46
V FIRST YEARS IN THE EPISCOPACY 55
VI MAN AND BISHOP 77
VII HISTORIAN 88
VIII WORK AMONG THE COLORED PEOPLE 99
IX DEVELOPMENT AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE BISHOP'S WORK 109
NOTES 127
PUBLISHED WRITINGS OF JOSEPH BLOUNT CHESHIRE 131
INDEX 135
CHAPTER I
_Youth and Manhood_
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.
In the fall of 1861 Cheshire entered the Tarboro Male Academy, whose
sole teacher at that time was Mr. Frank S. Wilkinson, a graduate of the
University of North Carolina. In this school Wilkinson took boys of
every age, from beginners to those preparing for college. Cheshire later
tells us that Wilkinson was devoted to the profession of teaching,
laboring "faithfully to interest his pupils, and give them the best that
he had himself." The school usually numbered between thirty and
thirty-five boys, but when it included as many as forty, Wilkinson
engaged an assistant. During Cheshire's attendance at the Academy, Mr.
William Henry Johnston was employed as an assistant. He was also a
graduate of the University and, as Cheshire says, "a very good scholar
after the standards of the day." In this small school, which never
boasted more than two teachers at any one time, Joseph Cheshire prepared
himself for college.
Since the summer climate of Tarboro did not agree with Dr. Cheshire's
health, he purchased in 1850 a home in Franklin County, about four miles
from Louisburg. This place was named Monreath and on it stood an old,
well-built house surrounded by one hundred and sixty acres of land. Here
the Cheshires spent their summers. These pleasant vacations at Monreath
caused Joseph to lose about two months of school each year, since the
fall term began the middle of July. Therefore, in the summer of 1864 he
asked his father if he could not attend the Louisburg Academy from July
to September. His father readily agreed, and each day young Cheshire
walked the four miles into Louisburg to conjugate Latin verbs and pursue
the other fields of learning which made up the curriculum of the average
classical school of that day.
During the Civil War the Cheshires did not suffer from molestation by
the enemy or from severe deprivation as did many southern families. They
gave shelter and comfort to many refugees from the eastern part of the
state, which was occupied by federal troops. Writing of his impressions
of the war years, Cheshire observed: "It is strange that almost all my
memories of those tragical days seem to be of bright and happy
experiences. I do not remember any atmosphere of gloom or depression.
The spirit of all was brave and buoyant."[1] The abolition of slavery
did not greatly affect the economic status of his family, since his
father owned only a few domestic servants whom he had inherited.
Cheshire's religious education began, of course, at home. Every Sunday
afternoon he and his brother stood before their mother with the Negro
children and repeated their assigned part of the catechism. He did not
attend Sunday school until after he had learned all the catechism, that
is, all but the "Desire." He later remarked that he never learned it "so
as not to forget it," and that it was the only thing he ever tried to
remember and failed.
By the fall of 1865 Cheshire was ready to enter college. It had been
originally planned that he should go to the University of North
Carolina. But when the time arrived his father did not have the money to
send him. Dr. Cheshire, however, had already decided not to send his son
to the state University; he did not think the environment there would be
suitable for a boy of fifteen, for a good many young soldiers, fresh
from the careless life of the army, were entering the University that
fall. Cheshire's best friend, Dick Lewis, and several others of his
class-mates went in the fall of 1865 to Mr. Graves' school in Granville
County. He was left in a class by himself at the Tarboro Academy, where
he continued his studies under the direction of Mr. Wilkinson.
During this period of study at the Academy Cheshire wrote an amusing and
original essay on the subject of honesty. Launching into his subject
with the statement that there had already been so much written upon it
that it was about worn out, he declared that he chose the topic for want
of a better one. This introduction was succeeded by the following:
"I have been thinking for a long time what else to say about 'Honesty,'
but can't think of a single thing which some other boy has not said in
his composition since I have been going to school: and I think that I
had better practice what I have here attempted to preach, and tell you,
Mr. Wilkinson, that it is Monday morning, and that composition never
entered into my head Saturday, and so you need not expect much. Instead
of a composition I will give you an account of my doings Saturday
evening, which I hope you will take as an equivalent."
Cheshire then gave an interesting description of a delightful horseback
ride he had had with a young lady. He concluded his essay by saying: "I
hope this will be taken as a composition. If it is not I hope you will
return it as there is enough clean paper on it to write another one."[2]
The composition is not only worth quoting for its originality, but also
because it brings out a pronounced characteristic of the later man.
Complete honesty with himself as well as others, under all conditions,
was one of his most outstanding qualities.
Joseph continued his studies under Mr. Wilkinson until February, 1866.
By that time Dr. Cheshire had secured sufficient funds with which to
send his son to college. He was still opposed to sending him to the
University for the reason already mentioned and because he felt the fate
of that institution at the time was most uncertain. He decided,
therefore, to send Joseph to Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut.
Trinity was an excellent school, under the management of the church, and
Dr. Cheshire was personally acquainted with its president.
Before his son left home for college, Dr. Cheshire told him that he must
decide while in school what he wished to do for his life's work. He
explained that since he had other children to educate, he would not be
able to help him after graduation. His father went on to say that it
would be a great happiness to him if his son should decide to go into
the ministry, but that was something he must determine for himself.
Cheshire later remarked that this was the only time in his memory that
his father ever spoke to him of the possibility of making the ministry
his life's work.
In late February of 1866 young Cheshire left home for Hartford. An
inexperienced boy, having traveled little beyond his section of the
state, he now set out to enter a strange school among people with whom,
less than a year ago, his people had been at war. Such a prospect would
have filled an older heart with trepidation. He traveled as far as New
York with a stranger who had been in Tarboro on business, and from
thence he went alone to Hartford.
Cheshire was allowed to enter the Freshman class with conditions only in
Greek and Latin composition, which was a tribute to the work done under
Mr. Wilkinson that fall. He learned upon arriving at school that he was
the first man from the Confederate States to enter Trinity since the
close of the war. He was treated kindly by his fellow students, and
never complained of any hostility or unfriendliness on the part of the
northern boys. His closest friends, however, were among a group of
students from Maryland.
Shortly after he entered college, his father wrote to President Kerfoot
asking him to suggest someone on the faculty who would be willing to act
as an advisor and friend to his son. Dr. Kerfoot proposed Rev. William
W. Niles, Professor of Latin at Trinity, who gladly took Cheshire under
his care. In time the two became fast friends. Professor Niles and his
wife often entertained him and always made him feel at home in their
house. Under Professor Niles' direction Cheshire was prepared for
confirmation, and in May, 1866, he was confirmed in the college chapel.
In later years he said of the Nileses: "I can never be sufficiently
grateful to Professor Niles and his good wife.... I enjoyed from that
time—from my Freshman days in college to the end of their lives, the
friendship and confidence of these most admirable people."[3]
Dr. Cheshire had a good deal of difficulty in maintaining his son at
college. The years immediately following the war were hard ones for
almost all southerners, and the Cheshire family was no exception. When
Cheshire came home for the Christmas holidays of 1867, his father told
him that he would be unable to send him back to college. He accepted
this decision as final, and wrote his roommate, Robert F. Bixby, that he
was not returning to college after the holidays. Not long afterwards,
Dr. Cheshire received a letter from Professor Pynchon, a member of the
Trinity faculty, who informed him that a friend, who wished to withhold
his name, would be happy to advance the necessary money for his son's
monthly board if that would be sufficient to make his return to college
possible. After talking the matter over with his son, Dr. Cheshire
accepted the generous offer, since he believed he would be able to repay
the full amount by the end of 1868. In this way young Cheshire was able
to resume his work at Trinity, receiving each month through Dr. Pynchon
the money for his board. As he had anticipated, Dr. Cheshire was able to
repay the whole debt at the end of 1868. Although he never knew,
Cheshire suspected that the money, so badly needed at the time, came
from the father of his friend, Robert Bixby.
During his first two years at Trinity, Cheshire had come to know Rev.
John Williams, Bishop of Connecticut and one-time Presiding Bishop of
the Episcopal Church, who often visited the college. When school closed
in June, 1868, Cheshire found that he was not financially able to go
home for the summer vacation, and that he would have to remain in
Hartford. Bishop Williams heard of his plans and thereupon invited him
to his old home in Deerfield, Massachusetts, for a month. The Bishop
said that he could serve as his secretary, and on this condition
Cheshire gladly accepted the invitation. As it turned out, he had very
little to do. He spent the month most delightfully, meeting many
interesting people and visiting near-by historical places. After leaving
Bishop Williams, he spent a pleasant month in Maryland visiting two of
his college friends. Thus most of the summer passed rapidly, and he
returned to Hartford greatly refreshed, ready to begin the last year of
his collegiate work.
While at Trinity Cheshire became a member of the Phi Kappa fraternity,
now the Alpha Delta Phi. He was the only member of his class who
belonged to this fraternity. Consequently, Cheshire modestly explains,
whenever an honor fell to a Phi Kappa of his class he was the only one
to receive it. Whether this was the reason or not, he was made president
of the Senior class, and was elected a marshal for the commencement of
1868. As for class and college prizes, he never entered a contest until
his last year. At this time he entered the competition for the "Tuttle
Prize," which was an award of thirty dollars for the best essay by a
senior on a subject to be chosen by the faculty. The topic selected for
Cheshire's class was "The Causes of the French Revolution." Cheshire
submitted a paper of forty-eight foolscap pages. Much to his
gratification, and somewhat to his surprise, his essay won the prize.
With the money he purchased "Pratt's Complete Works of Bishop Hall" in
ten volumes as a gift for his father. For himself he bought a set of
Chaucer's works in eight volumes and a few other books. Indeed, he seems
to have made his prize money go far and to much advantage.
In June, 1869, Cheshire's college days came to a close. During his three
and one-half years at Trinity he made many close friendships which
continued throughout his life. He was not an outstanding student, but
did creditably in all his courses. At the commencement exercises he
delivered an original address, which was required of all graduates. He
chose as the subject of his senior oration "The Strength of Republican
Governments," a topic characteristic of that period. Cheshire had been
influenced in the choice of this subject by De Tocqueville's _Democracy
in America_, in which he had become interested. Following his graduation
he returned to North Carolina, where he spent the summer of 1869 with
his family at Monreath. This was his last long vacation. He was soon to
take over his first position and to begin earning for the remainder of
his life his own way.
In the course of graduation week at Trinity, Cheshire had the good
fortune of making the acquaintance of Rev. John Avery Shepherd of
Maryland. Dr. Shepherd had organized a few years before a private
school, which he called St. Clement's Hall, at Ellicott City near
Baltimore. Being favorably impressed with Cheshire's personality and his
record at Trinity, Dr. Shepherd offered him a position in his school
teaching Latin and Greek for the scholastic year 1869-70. His salary was
to be six hundred dollars a year in addition to board and lodging.
Cheshire gladly accepted the position, since he wished no longer to be a
burden on his father. His younger brother was then ready to enter
college and was only waiting for him to finish.
In the middle of September Cheshire left Monreath to take up his duties
at St. Clement's Hall. Before he left home his father gave him fifty
dollars to aid him until he should receive a part of his salary. This
was the last time he ever gave him any money, that is, from a feeling of
responsibility for his son's support.
At St. Clement's Cheshire was given all the upper classes in Latin and
Greek, and in addition taught some arithmetic and algebra. In
consequence of his rather poor beginning in Latin and Greek at the
Tarboro Academy, he never became a scholar in these fields. While
teaching Latin he became more interested in this subject and read rather
widely in Tacitus and other Latin authors. In the course of his busy
life of teaching he found time to continue "a kind of study" of
Blackstone which he had begun in his senior year at Trinity. He also
read through Kent's _Commentaries_ and a good deal of English poetry.
Cheshire came to know a number of people in the neighborhood of the
school who helped to make his life at St. Clement's more interesting and
pleasant. He spent a good many week-ends in Baltimore with some of his
Trinity friends. When his oldest and best friend, Richard Lewis, came to
Baltimore to study medicine in the fall of 1870, his visits became more
frequent. On the whole, his life at St. Clement's was happy, and the
experience he gained, worth while. He never, however, became fond of
teaching, but he enjoyed his students and took a warm personal interest
in them. After two years at St. Clement's he decided to abandon teaching
for the law profession, which he thought would be more congenial to his
tastes.
When Cheshire returned to North Carolina in June, 1871, he went with his
family to Hillsboro to spend the summer. Here he began the study of law
under the eminent lawyer, William K. Ruffin, son of Chief Justice Thomas
Ruffin, who coached law students since he was too crippled to do much
active practice. Ruffin was a "devotee" of the common law and always
gave his students a thorough drilling in it. He made Cheshire devote
almost all the summer to the study of Second Blackstone and Cruise's
_Real Property_. When he left Hillsboro in September, Ruffin made him
promise that he would secure an old folio edition of Coke's
_Commentaries on Littleton_ and read it carefully. Some time later
Cheshire bought a copy of this work in Baltimore and read it from cover
to cover as he had promised. He once remarked that he believed he was
the last man in North Carolina to have completely read the old folio
edition. Cheshire found Mr. William Ruffin "a most interesting man as
well as a stimulating and helpful teacher."[4]
Upon returning to Tarboro Cheshire continued his study of law, now in
the office of Howard and Perry. In this office he "read law," for he
says that Judge George Howard would not agree to give him any
instruction. Cheshire, however, maintained that he learned much law from
Judge Howard, and "a good deal of sound practical wisdom."
After his summer's work under William Ruffin and some three months'
study in Judge Howard's office, Cheshire was ready to try for his
license. On January 1, 1872, he went to Raleigh to be examined by the
Supreme Court Justices. It was an oral test and, in Cheshire's own
words, was "a very slight and superficial examination" in comparison
with those given today. The day after the examination he was informed
that he had passed and was granted his license.
Shortly afterwards George G. Hooper, a Trinity College friend, wrote
Cheshire to come to Baltimore and join him in a law partnership. He did
not particularly care to leave North Carolina, but he feared if he
remained he might be a burden on his father while establishing himself.
He accordingly accepted Hooper's offer, and the two men formed a
partnership under the firm name of Hooper and Cheshire. Hooper agreed to
pay him a salary for the first year, at the end of which time they would
make a new agreement.
Cheshire had not been in the office long before he learned that Hooper
had "little real law practice." His work was almost entirely confined to
drawing up conveyances and examining land titles. After some fifteen
months of this sort of work, Cheshire realized there was little future
for him in such a partnership. It was, therefore, with much pleasure
that he received, in May, 1873, a letter from his friend, John L.
Bridgers, Jr., asking him to return to Tarboro and join him and his
father, Colonel John L. Bridgers, in the practice of law. Cheshire
readily accepted this proposal, and the following month came back to
North Carolina where he was to make his home for the remainder of his
life.
Cheshire was happy to be living in Tarboro once again with his family
and among his old friends. Thus was formed the firm of Bridgers,
Cheshire, and Bridgers. This connection continued until January, 1875,
at which time Cheshire was offered the position of secretary and
treasurer of the Pamlico Banking and Insurance Company, a corporation
organized to solicit fire insurance. He accepted the offer because it
gave him an office and a small salary and did not interfere with his law
practice. The company's business was not extensive, and required only a
few hours of his time each day. While holding this position he was also
treasurer of the Tarboro Building and Loan Association. Again this
office demanded little of his time, merely requiring that he receive the
money from the secretary weekly and pay it out upon his order.
Cheshire continued the practice of law until the early part of 1878. In
summing up his work at the bar, he observed: "I made a living and saved
a few hundred dollars. I had no very interesting or important cases, so
far as I recall."[5] During his last year of practice, however, he made
a little over fifteen hundred dollars, which, for a young lawyer of that
period, was doing quite well.
Since leaving St. Clement's Hall in June, 1871, Cheshire had not by any
means devoted all of his time and thought to the study and practice of
law. He accomplished a great deal more in the summer of 1871 than the
study of common law under Mr. William K. Ruffin. It was then that he
renewed his acquaintance with his cousin, Miss Annie Huske Webb, who
lived in Hillsboro. He had seen this cousin but little since her visit
to Tarboro in December, 1865. He always remembered the first time he saw
her upon her arrival in Tarboro for that visit and described the meeting
thus: "When I looked at her, as she came in out of the rain, and lifted
the veil from her face, I thought her the most beautiful person I had
ever seen. I think that first impression was never effaced."[6]
In the course of the summer spent in Hillsboro Cheshire saw a good deal
of his cousin. It was not long before he realized that he was in love
with her. While not possessing a particularly romantic nature, Cheshire
was a man of deep emotions and fine sentiments. During his courtship of
Miss Webb he composed for her this little poem:
A. H. W.
My Love is a fair white Lily,
And she loves not the day's full glare,
But she seeks out a quiet valley,
And she lifts up her sweet face there.
The blue heavens through the branches
Look down with their kindly light;
And she smiles back a gentle greeting
When the stars look through at night.
The song-birds sing to her sweetly,
And she's rocked by the gentle breeze;
And she hides from the storms of Winter
'Midst the roots of the giant trees.
She peeps in the crystal streamlet,
As she nods in the breezes light:
And she knows not her own fair beauty,
But is glad that she's pure and white.[7]
By May, 1872, Cheshire and Annie Huske Webb were engaged; but it was not
until 1874 that he felt he was financially able to marry. On December 17
of that year they were married in St. Matthew's Church, Hillsboro. They
had a simple wedding with Richard Lewis as his best man. The following
day Cheshire and his wife went to Tarboro, where for the next four years
they made their home with his family.
With this, the greatest event in his life up to that time, we close the
first phase of Cheshire's career. During the period he had grown to
manhood, received his scholastic and collegiate education, taught for
two years, studied law and practiced it for six years, and had some
little part in the business world. All of this training and varied
experience gave him a rich background for the great work which lay ahead
of him.