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_