Adolphus "Prince" Busch Sr., (USA)

German-born Adolphus Busch was the co-founder of Anheuser-Busch with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. His great-great-grandson, August Busch IV is now on the board of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Biography

Busch was born on July 10, 1839 in Kastel, then a district of Mainz in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. He was the second youngest of 22 siblings. The family worked in winery and brewery supplies. He attended the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels, and left his home in 1857 with three of his brothers for St Louis; Johann, who established a brewery in Washington, Missouri, Ulrich, Jr, who married another daughter of Eberhard Anheuser and settled in Chicago and Anton, a hops dealer that later returned home to Mainz.

His first job in St Louis was working as a clerk in the commission house. He was also an employee at William Hainrichshofen's wholesale company.

He became acquainted with Lilly Anheuser, whose parents had a small brewery which her father Eberhard Anheuser acquired in 1860, renaming it from the Bavarian Brewery to the E. Anheuser Brewery.

He married 17 year old Lilly Eberhard Anheuser on 7 March 1861 in St Louis. They had thirteen children; eight sons, including Adolphus Busch II, August Anheuser Busch I and Carl Busch, and five daughters.

During the American Civil War he served in the United States Army for 14 months. It was at this time that he learned that his father had died and that he had inherited a portion of his father's estate. He used the money to start a wholesale brewer's supply store, and four years later he bought a share in the Bavarian brewery from Eberhard Anheuser, his father-in-law. The company was first called "Anheuser and Company", but at the death of Eberhard Anheuser in 1880, it was changed to "Anheuser Busch Company".

The rapid success of the Anheuser Brewer made its owner independent and permitted him to perform philanthropic activities, such as assisting in the repair of the devastating 1882 flooding of Kastel-Mainz by the Rhine River.

In 1891 Adolphus bought from Carl Conrad the trademark and name Budweiser.

He envisioned a national beer with universal appeal. Toward this end, he created a network of rail-side ice-houses and launched the industry’s first fleet of refrigerated freight cars. However, throughout his life, he referred to his beer as "that slop" and instead drank wine. Success came when Adolphus implemented pasteurization as a way to keep the beer fresh for longer periods of time. The beer could now be shipped all over the country. He was also an early adopter of bottled beer. In 1901 sales surpassed the one million barrels of beer benchmark.

In 1912, Busch constructed the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, Texas, then the tallest building in the state.

The Busches often traveled to Germany where they had a mansion, the Villa Lilly, which was named for Mrs Busch, in Lindschied near Langenschwalbach, in present-day Bad Schwalbach.

He died there in Lindschied on October 10, 1913 while on vacation. He had been suffering from dropsy since 1906. His body was brought back in 1915 by ship to the United States and then a train to St. Louis and he was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Legacy

The Adolphus Busch is also an intentionally sunk ship off of the middle Florida Keys. Adolphus Busch IV contributed nearly $200,000 to the procurement of this vessel and its preparation for sinking as an artificial reef. As a result, the vessel was named in his honor. Today it is a marine habitat and popular dive site.

Adolphus Busch also built a series of buildings in downtown Dallas. One of which was the Busch Building, now known as the Kirby Residences, located at 1509 Main St. It is a national historic landmark.

• Source: Wikipedia

The youngest of 21 children born to a wealthy wine dealer, Busch came to the U.S. in 1857 to make his own fortune. After stints as a steamboat clerk and a salesman, he got in the brewing business in 1865, when he became business partners with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. After Busch took control, the company developed ways to pasteurize and refrigerate beer — innovations that allowed the brew to keep longer and, therefore, be distributed nationally. By 1900, the company had become the country’s largest brewery.

I found this info on Findagrave.com 9/3/2014 Colleen Nichols

Birth: Jul. 10, 1842
Death: Oct. 10, 1913

Businessman, Co-founder of Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. Adolphus Busch was the second of 22 children born to Barbara (Pfeifer) and Ulrich Busch in Kastel, Mainz, Grand Duchy of Hesse (now Germany). His father was a wealthy landowner and had business interests in the lumber, winery and brewing businesses. His father's position and wealth assured that Adolphus had access to the best education. He attended the Academy of Darmstadt and the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels. After working in the lumber business for a year, he secured a position in a mercantile business in Cologne where he quickly rose to a leadership position. Adolphus, along with three of his brothers; Johann, Ulrich, Jr and Anton immigrated to the United States in 1857. He became acquainted with Eberhard Anheuser, the owner of a small brewery, and married his daughter, Lilly Eberhard Anheuser, on March 7, 1861 in St Louis, Missouri. Lilly and Adolphus had 8 children: Augusta, August Anheuser, Adolphus II, Eddie, Anna, Clara, Wilhelmina and Carl. In June 1861, Adolphus joined the Union Army and served for 14 months, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel. During his service in the Union Army, he was notified of his father's death and that he had inherited a portion of the estate. With the proceeds from the estate, he was able to establish a wholesale brewers supply business in St Louis. Four years later, he purchased an equal share of his father-in-law's Bavarian brewery, Anheuser and Company. After Eberhard Anheuser died in 1880, the business name was changed to Anheuser Busch Company. Adolphus pioneered the pasteurization of beer so that it could be kept in rail-side icehouses and shipped in refrigerated rail cars throughout the country without a loss of quality. He also pioneered bottling beer in glass bottles and founded the Busch Glass Company to assure a steady supply of bottles to his brewery business. He purchased the trademarked name "Budweiser" from Carl Conrad in 1891 for his product. The success of his brewing business allowed Adolphus and his family to contribute to many philanthropic activities. He made several contributions to Harvard University toward erection of a Germanic Museum, named Adolphus Busch Hall and assisted in the rebuilding of Kastel, Mainz, Germany from a devastating flood of the Rhine River in 1882. The family also traveled extensively and had a vacation home in Langenschwalbach, Germany (now Bad Schwalbach, Germany). While on vacation at his home in Germany, Adolphus died on Oct 10, 1913 from the effects of dropsy. The stewartship of the company he co-founded was passed to his son, August Anheuser Busch Sr. His body was shipped back to the United States in 1915 to be buried in the family mausoleum. (bio by: Vickie Clark)

Family links: Parents: Ulrich Busch (1779 - 1852) Barbara Pfeiffer Busch (1792 - 1844)

Spouse: Elizabeth Lilly Anheuser Busch (1844 - 1928)*

Children:

1. August Anheuser Busch (1865 - 1934)*
2. Adolphus Busch (1867 - 1898)*
3. Peter Busch (1869 - 1905)*
4. Anna Louise Busch Faust (1875 - 1936)*
5. Carl Busch (1882 - 1915)*

Siblings:

1. Kaspar Busch (1806 - 1855)**
2. Georg Busch (1808 - ____)**
3. Balth Busch (1810 - ____)**
4. John B. Busch (1832 - 1894)*
5. Adolphus Busch (1842 - 1913)

Calculated relationship* Half-sibling**

Burial: Bellefontaine Cemetery Saint Louis St. Louis City Missouri, USA Plot: Busch Mausoleum (Block 77/78, Lot 2565)

I found this info on Findagrave.com 9/3/2014 Colleen Nichols

Birth: Jul. 10, 1842 Death: Oct. 10, 1913

Businessman, Co-founder of Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. Adolphus Busch was the second of 22 children born to Barbara (Pfeifer) and Ulrich Busch in Kastel, Mainz, Grand Duchy of Hesse (now Germany). His father was a wealthy landowner and had business interests in the lumber, winery and brewing businesses. His father's position and wealth assured that Adolphus had access to the best education. He attended the Academy of Darmstadt and the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels. After working in the lumber business for a year, he secured a position in a mercantile business in Cologne where he quickly rose to a leadership position. Adolphus, along with three of his brothers; Johann, Ulrich, Jr and Anton immigrated to the United States in 1857. He became acquainted with Eberhard Anheuser, the owner of a small brewery, and married his daughter, Lilly Eberhard Anheuser, on March 7, 1861 in St Louis, Missouri. Lilly and Adolphus had 8 children: Augusta, August Anheuser, Adolphus II, Eddie, Anna, Clara, Wilhelmina and Carl. In June 1861, Adolphus joined the Union Army and served for 14 months, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel. During his service in the Union Army, he was notified of his father's death and that he had inherited a portion of the estate. With the proceeds from the estate, he was able to establish a wholesale brewers supply business in St Louis. Four years later, he purchased an equal share of his father-in-law's Bavarian brewery, Anheuser and Company. After Eberhard Anheuser died in 1880, the business name was changed to Anheuser Busch Company. Adolphus pioneered the pasteurization of beer so that it could be kept in rail-side icehouses and shipped in refrigerated rail cars throughout the country without a loss of quality. He also pioneered bottling beer in glass bottles and founded the Busch Glass Company to assure a steady supply of bottles to his brewery business. He purchased the trademarked name "Budweiser" from Carl Conrad in 1891 for his product. The success of his brewing business allowed Adolphus and his family to contribute to many philanthropic activities. He made several contributions to Harvard University toward erection of a Germanic Museum, named Adolphus Busch Hall and assisted in the rebuilding of Kastel, Mainz, Germany from a devastating flood of the Rhine River in 1882. The family also traveled extensively and had a vacation home in Langenschwalbach, Germany (now Bad Schwalbach, Germany). While on vacation at his home in Germany, Adolphus died on Oct 10, 1913 from the effects of dropsy. The stewartship of the company he co-founded was passed to his son, August Anheuser Busch Sr. His body was shipped back to the United States in 1915 to be buried in the family mausoleum. (bio by: Vickie Clark)