McDonough County Genealogical Society
Imagine stepping back in time and meeting the John Mustain family as they arrived in McDonough County in the fall of 1832. It would have been quite a sight. John and his wife, Elizabeth, were traveling west with nine children, including 6-month-old George.
According to S. J. Clarke’s History of McDonough County, John was “a large portly man, of good appearance, pleasant and agreeable.” Their son, Thomas A. Mustain, stood over six feet tall and weighed about 215 pounds. The Mustains were a family that did not go unnoticed.
John was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1782. His early life was difficult. Orphaned at the age of four, he was apprenticed to a hatter. After several years, he decided carpentry was a better fit and spent more than thirty years working in that trade.
Records show that John began purchasing land in Virginia as early as 1812. By 1832, however, he and Elizabeth had decided to seek a new life in the West. They sold their property, including land Elizabeth had inherited from her father, Nathan Glenn, and headed for Illinois.
