Cheshire quite naturally regretted leaving Chapel Hill, for he had been happy in his work there. He was also reluctant to part with his mission in Durham, which was created in a very real sense by his own labors. Recalling the first three years of his ministry, he declared: "I look upon my life at Chapel Hill as my pupilage, the completion of my training for my life work."[15] CHAPTER III _Saint Peter's Parish_ Cheshire entered upon his work in Charlotte with a feeling that here he had an excellent opportunity for extending the influence of his church, particularly in the missionary field. He did not feel any fear or trepidation at the thought of this larger and more difficult work, although he had no great confidence in his own ability. He went to his new parish with the determination to give to it his best, and throughout his rectorate there he never lost sight of that ideal. When some of his friends heard that he was going to St. Peter's, they told him he was taking over one of the hardest and most undesirable parishes in the Diocese. This was indeed a discouraging description of his new work, but after serving twelve years at St. Peter's, Cheshire remarked that he had found nothing which would justify such a characterization of that parish. Cheshire did not bring his wife and children to Charlotte at once but left them in Chapel Hill for the summer. During this time he lived with Mr. John Wilkes, the senior warden of the parish, and took his meals at a boarding house. Finding no parish rectory in Charlotte, he bought a house on North Church Street. This purchase took all he had saved from his law practice, plus an additional thousand dollars which he had to borrow. His salary from St. Peter's being twelve hundred dollars a year, he was able to carry a debt of this amount. With a salary this size he felt that he had been "raised to a condition of affluence." In an exuberance of generosity he offered to become responsible for the support of an orphan in one of the foreign mission orphanages. For some reason his proposal was not accepted. It was not long, however, before he found that his salary was little if any above his actual needs. When Cheshire became rector of St. Peter's there were one hundred and thirty-seven communicants in the parish. Mr. John Wilkes and Colonel Hamilton C. Jones were his senior and junior wardens, respectively. These men were quite different in temperament, but both were sincerely devoted to the welfare of the church. The young rector found in them staunch friends and helpful advisors. One of the first tasks Cheshire set for himself was to visit and become acquainted with each member of his congregation. After making a careful study of the parish register, he purchased a small memorandum book in which he wrote down the full name, age, and church status of each person connected with St. Peter's. By the end of his first summer in Charlotte he had become fairly well acquainted with most of his parishioners.