Bonaparte-Wyse, William Charles (1826 -1892)

William Charles Bonaparte-Wyse was the second son of Sir Thomas Wyse of St John, Waterford and Laetitia, daughter of Lucien Bonaparte. He was born in Waterford, and as a young man travelled throughout much of Europe. At Avignon he learnt Provençal and in 1868 published a volume of verse in the language Parpeioun Blu, i.e. Blue butterfly, with a French translation and an introduction by Frederic Mistral. This was followed by other volumes of poems in the dialect. He married, in 1864, Ellen Linzee, daughter of W. G. Prout of St Mabyn in Cornwall. He died at Cannes 3 December 1892, leaving four sons, the eldest of whom, Lucien William Bonaparte Wyse, a Captain in the Waterford Artillery, succeeded to the estate of St John after the death of his uncle.