In Philadelphia, he became a member of the Free African Society, a mutual-aid organization founded in 1787 that assisted Free Blacks, and enslaved Africans, especially those enslaved Africans who were seeking freedom. Among the other founders and members of the Free African Society, were Absolom Jones, the first African American to be ordained a Priest in the Episcopal Church, and Richard Allen, the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Both Jones and Allen were Prince Hall Masons. Jones was the first Grand Master of the First African Independent Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (the first Grand Lodge in the Prince Hall fraternity), and Allen was its first Grand Treasurer. As a member of the Free African Society, he (Bustill) assisted Black families including providing financial assistance for funerals and burials to widows and other family members. He also assisted sick members of the African American community, especially during the Yellow-fever epidemic in the late 18 th and early 19 th Centuries. In addition to his involvement in the community, he also became an early member of the Underground Railroad. By 1791, he was recorded as owning twelve acres in the Black settlement of Guinea town, which was located between the Abington and Cheltenham townships in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania As education was not being provided by the State of Pennsylvania and City of Philadelphia to African American Children, in 1803 after he retired, he opened a school for Black children in his home. At the time of his death in 1806, Cyrus Bustill was a leading member of the African American upper class in Philadelphia. Based on family lore, Joyce Mosley, a descendant of Bustill conducted extensive research into his contributions into, and for George Washingt on’s Army at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War. After extensive documentation, she was successful in verifying his contributions. She was also able to determine that his contributions had been acknowledged by Washington during his Presidency. As a consequence, she and subsequent female members of her family were granted memberships in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution)..
Joyce Mosley’s Membership Certificate in the “Daughters of the American Revolution
Prince Hall Sentinel May 2024 Page | 20
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