William Ernest Bush (1861–1903) aka the Baron de Bush, was the only Freiherr von Bush of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He was husband of the opera singer

Pauline Joran Pauline Joran (3 August 1870 – 13 August 1954) was an American opera singer who lived and performed and mostly in the UK. She was the wife of William Ernest Bush, the first and last Baron de Bush, and mother of Paulise de Bush, who became the y ...

, and father of Paulise de Bush, who became the "Baby Baroness" following his death in a railway accident in 1903.

Early life

William Ernest Bush was born in 1861 is monument at Kensal Green says born 29 October 1860 in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...

, the eldest son of William John Bush, the founder of ''W J Bush & Co Ltd'', a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based manufacturer of scents and flavourings, some for the

pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry is a medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or self-administered by) patients for curing ...

, founded in 1851 at

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

. After William John Bush died in 1889, he was succeeded by his son as head of the company.Richmond, Lesley, Stevenson, Julie, & Torton, Alison, ''The pharmaceutical industry: a guide to historical records'' (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2002) William Ernest Bush was a fellow of the

Chemical Society of London The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. In his professional capacity he acted as the British

Juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

for

Chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

at the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

International Exhibition in 1885. In 1888 he stood as the President of Chemical Section and was the British Representative on the Supreme Jury of the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Exhibition in 1888. This led to his being granted the title of Freiherr (Baron) von Bush by

Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest II (; 21 June 181822 August 1893) was Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to his death in 1893. He was born in Coburg to Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. His father be ...

in ducal

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

dated 25 December 1889. The Baron de Bush was granted a Royal

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to use his title in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 29 July 1896.

Marriage & death

On 6 December 1899, de Bush married Clara Pauline Joran (1870–1954), an American opera singer, daughter of Austrian-born Alois Anton Josef Albin Joran (1830-1901) later known in the USA as Louis Grund Joran of

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. They had one child, a daughter called Paulise Marie Louise. On 24 July 1903, de Bush died after falling in front of an express train near

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

while he and his wife were travelling up to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The title was declared to be extinct in 1910.Melville Henry Massue, Marquis of Ruvigny et Raineval, ''The Nobilities of Europe'' (London, 1910) (for the facsimile reprint (2000)) However, Bush's daughter Paulise (1900–1975) became the Baroness de Bush, and was called "The Baby Baroness" due to being the youngest Baroness in England.Exhibition Catalogue of the 1905 Fiftieth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, page 42 As a

Freiin (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

, (the daughter of a Freiherr) Paulise had the right to be addressed as "Baroness", although this could not be passed to her descendants. Control of ''W J Bush & Co Ltd'' passed on to a younger brother, James Mortimer Bush.(1863-1941).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, William Ernest 1861 births 1903 deaths British chemists Railway accident deaths in England People from Hackney Central German barons