Cheshire, Joseph Blount, Jr.

(Mar. 27, 1850-Dec. 27, 1932). Bishop and church historian. He was born in Tarborough, North Carolina. After graduating from Trinity College, Hartford, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in North Carolina in 1872. In 1876 he began to read theology. On Apr. 21, 1878, he was ordained deacon, and on May 30, 1880, he was ordained priest. Cheshire established St. Philip the Deacon Church at Durham, and from 1881 until 1893, he was rector of St. Peter's Church, Charlotte. On Oct. 15, 1893, he was consecrated Assistant Bishop of North Carolina, and on Dec. 13, 1893, he became the fifth Bishop of North Carolina. He served as Bishop of North Carolina until his death. Cheshire was a high churchman and insisted that his clergy follow the rubrics of the BCP. One of his most significant historical studies is The Church in the Confederate States: A History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States (1912). Cheshire died in Charlotte.