Bustill, Cyrus, 1732-1806

Born in Burlington, New Jersey, on February 2, 1732, Cyrus Bustill was a son of Quaker lawyer Samuel Bustill and Parthenia, a woman of African descent who was a slave owned by Samuel. After Samuel Bustill died in 1742, his widow, Grace Bustill, arranged for the sale of Cyrus Bustill to fellow Quaker Thomas Prior with the understanding that Prior would allow Cyrus to train and earn enough money as an apprentice baker in order to purchase his freedom.

By 1791, Cyrus Bustill was recorded as owning twelve acres in the black settlement of Guineatown, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Morey (1746–1827), a woman of Native American and European descent. Their children include Grace Douglass, David Bowser Bustill, and Mary Bustill.

Considered the founder of the prominent Bustill family, his descendants include Paul Robeson (1898–1976), David Bustill Bowser (1820–1900) Sarah Mapps Douglass (1806–1882), Robert Douglass Jr. (1809–1887) and Gertrude Bustill Mossell (1855–1948).

Cyrus Bustill died in 1806.