Cyrus Bustill

Cyrus Bustill (February 2, 1732 1806) was an African American brewer and baker, abolitionist and community leader.

A notable business owner in the African American community in Philadelphia, he also became a founding member of the Free African Society in the city.

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

By 1791, Cyrus Bustill was recorded as owning twelve acres in the black settlement of Guineatown between the Abington and Cheltenham townships in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. 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. His grave is located at the Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.