James Smith Bush

James Smith Bush was born on June 15, 1825, in Rochester, New York. His parents were Obadiah Newcomb Bush and Harriet Smith (1800–1867). In 1851, his father returned from the California Gold Rush after two years to reunite with his family and relocate westward. Obadiah Newcomb Bush died on February 9, 1851, aboard a ship while returning at Itcha, New York, and was presumably buried at sea.

James Smith Bush attended Yale College, beginning his studies in 1841 as a member of the class of 1844. He was part of the early supporters of the Wolf's Head Society, an organization founded at Yale in 1883 with contributions from over 300 alumni and faculty. After graduating from Yale, Bush returned to Rochester to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1847.

In 1851, Bush married Sarah Freeman, who resided in Saratoga Springs. The marriage lasted approximately 18 months, ending with Sarah Freeman's death during childbirth. Following her death, Bush studied divinity under the guidance of the rector at the Episcopal church in Saratoga Springs. He was ordained as a deacon in 1855 and subsequently appointed rector at Grace Church in Orange, New Jersey.

On February 24, 1859, Bush married Harriet Eleanor Fay at Trinity Church, New York City. Harriet Fay was born in Savannah, Georgia. Her paternal lineage traces back to Samuel Howard and Susan Shellman Fay. Samuel Fay, her grandfather, was a descendant of John Fay, who emigrated from England around 1656 aboard the ship Speedwell and settled in Boston.

James and Harriet Fay Bush had four children: James Freeman (born June 15, 1860), Samuel Prescott (born October 4, 1863), Harold Montfort (born November 14, 1871), and Eleanor Howard (born November 7, 1873). Samuel Prescott Bush was named after Harriet Fay's grandfather.

Between 1865 and 1866, Bush was granted a health sabbatical and traveled to San Francisco via the Straits of Magellan aboard the USS Monadnock, a Union ironclad monitor. During the voyage, he served as Commodore John Rodgers' secretary, conducting shipboard religious services and officiating at a wedding in Montevideo. His journey coincided with the Spanish Navy's shelling of Valparaíso during the Chincha Islands War, an event Rodgers unsuccessfully mediated.

In 1867, Bush became rector of Grace Church (later Cathedral) in San Francisco, serving until 1872. His tenure was notably short, partly due to personal obligations. His time in California was satirized by Mark Twain in his weekly column in The Californian. In 1872, Bush received a call to serve at the Church of the Ascension in West Brighton, Staten Island. He resigned from that position in 1884 amid disputes over a church raffle.

Bush was an author of religious works, publishing "More Words About the Bible" in 1883, which responded to Heber Newton’s "Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible." In 1885, he published "Evidence of Faith," which was reviewed as a straightforward argument against supernatural explanations for God. These publications aligned with the broad church movement within Anglicanism.

In his later years, Bush retired to Concord, Massachusetts. In 1888, he left the Episcopal Church and joined the Unitarian denomination. The separation from the Episcopal Church was reported to have caused health issues. He subsequently moved to Ithaca, New York, where he died suddenly on November 11, 1889, while raking leaves.

His published works include sermons such as "The Atonement" (1863), "Death of President Lincoln" (1865), and "Building on Christ" (1869), as well as books including "The Priesthood and Absolution" (1878), "More Words About the Bible" (1883), and "Evidence of Faith" (1885).