Paul Busti was born in Milan, Italy, on the 17th day of October, 1749, and after receiving his education in his native country entered the counting house of his uncle in Amsterdam, Holland, where afterward established himself in business, married Elizabeth May, daughter of an English captain, and acquired a high reputation for business talent, industry and integrity. He was induced to accept the general agency at Philadelphia, and most faithfully and satisfactorily did he perform his duties for a period of twenty-four years, up to the date of his death, July 23, 1824. The Bustis came to Philadelphia, which was then the capital of the United States, toward the end of the eighteenth century. Mrs. Busti died in 1822, two years previous to the death of her husband, leaving no children.
Paul Busti, as stated, was general agent and sole director from 1799 to 1824 of all the operations of the Holland Land Co., which possessed over three million acres of land in New York State and one and one-half million acres in Pennsylvania. This company was composed of Hollanders who, when the struggle for liberty and American Independence was yet doubtful, loaned several millions of dollars to this country and after the establishment of the government purchased a wilderness to restore it to civilization. Paul Busti died in July, 1824 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.