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Anna Bustill Smith (1862 – August 1945) was a cousin of Paul Robeson and member of Philadelphia's prominent Bustill family. A suffragist, who was the first known African-American genealogist in the United States, she also achieved recognition as an African-American author during the 20th century. Among her most important works are biographical sketches about members of the Bustill family, as well as her Reminiscences of Colored People of Princeton, N.J., 1800–1900, which was a study of Princeton's Black community that was published in 1913.

Formative years

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1862 as Anna Amelia Bustill, Anna Bustill Smith was a great-granddaughter of Cyrus Bustill (1732–1806), a formerly enslaved man who purchased his freedom and later became a founding member of Philadelphia's Free African Society, and was the daughter of Sarah Bustill (1828–1891) and her husband, Joseph Cassey Bustill (1822–1895), who had become the youngest member of the Underground Railroad when he was just seventeen years old.

In addition to being prominent members of the African-American community in the Philadelphia area, she and her parents were also members of the Quaker church. In 1880, she resided with her parents in Lower Oxford, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Later life and death

Anna Bustill Smith later married James H. Smith of Chicago, Illinois, and resided with him in Chicago before they relocated to Philadelphia.

In 1913, she published Reminiscences of Colored People of Princeton, N.J., 1800–1900, which was a study of Princeton's Black community.

Anna Bustill Smith remained in Philadelphia until her death in August 1945. Her funeral was held on August 10, 1945, at the Jennie Morris funeral parlor, 717 South 19th Street in Philadelphia, and she was buried in Princeton, New Jersey. She was survived by her children: daughters Anna Smith of Philadelphia and Mrs. Virgie S. Rhetta of Chicago, sons John Smith of Chicago and Curtis Smith of Los Angeles, grandchildren Lieutenant Carl W. Rhetta and Staff Sergeant J. Curtis Rhetta, and one great-grandchild, J. Curtis Rhetta, Jr.

References

1. "Paul Robeson's Cousin Dies in Philadelphia." Detroit, Michigan: The Michigan Chronicle, August 25, 1945.
2. Woodson, C. G. "The Bustill Family", in Negro History Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 7, pp. 147–148, p. 167. Washington, D.C.: The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).
3. Honeywell, Holly and M.K. Pennell, et al. "Biographical Sketch of Anna Bustill Smith", in Biographical Database of Black Woman Suffragists. Alexandria, Virginia: Alexander Street, retrieved online March 4, 2021.
4. Ferretti, Fred. "Black History in Princeton", New York, New York: The New York Times, March 5, 1978.
5. Smith, Anna Bustill, Reminiscences of Colored People of Princeton, N.J., 1800–1900. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: P.V. Baugh, 1913. Retrieved online from the U.S. Library of Congress, March 4, 2021.
6. "Fugitive Slaves". Friends' Intelligencer and Journal, Vol. 55, p. 413. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Friends' Intelligencer Association, Limited, 1898.
7. "Joseph Cassey Bustill," in "Digital Harrisburg." Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Messiah University, retrieved online March 4, 2021.
8. Honeywell, "Biographical Sketch of Anna Bustill Smith".
9. Bustill, Anna and Joseph, et al., in U.S. Census (Lower Oxford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, June 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
10. Smith, Anna Bustill. "Reminiscences of colored people of Princeton, N.J., 1800–1900". Ann Arbor, Michigan: Hathi Trust Digital Library, retrieved online March 5, 2021.
11. "Paul Robeson's Cousin Dies in Philadelphia," in The Michigan Chronicle, August 25, 1945.

External links

• Azumi, Rena. "The Witherspoon-Jackson Community" (regarding Princeton's African-American community during the 19th century), in "Princeton & Slavery." Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University, retrieved online March 4, 2021.
• Writings of Black Women Suffragists: Anna Bustill Smith. Alexandria, Virginia: Alexander Street, retrieved online March 4, 2021.

• 1862 births
• 1945 deaths
• 20th-century American women writers
• African-American suffragists
• Suffragists from Pennsylvania
• 20th-century African-American women writers
• 20th-century African-American writers