Dave Mustaine

Mustaine in 2010, photo by prphotos.com

Birth Name: David Scott Mustaine

Place of Birth: La Mesa, San Diego, California, United States

Date of Birth: September 13, 1961

Ethnicity:
*father – English, German, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, remote French and Dutch
*mother – Ashkenazi Jewish

Dave Mustaine is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor, and author. He is the lead singer and guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth, and was previously the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica. Metallica’s members have also included/include Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Ron McGovney, Jason Newsted, and Lars Ulrich.

Dave is the son of Emilie/Emily Marie (David) and John Jefferson Mustaine. Dave’s father had English, German, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and remote French and Dutch, ancestry. Dave’s mother was a Jewish emigrant from Germany, of Polish Jewish and German Jewish descent; she moved to the U.S. around 1923.

Dave was raised a Jehovah’s Witness. He is now a born-again Christian.

Dave is married to Pamela Casselberry, with whom he has two children.

Dave has repeatedly stated that he has Finnish ancestry, and that his surname was spelled Mustonen several generations back. It is not clear if this ancestry has been verified/documented. Dave’s patrilineal line can be traced to his fifth great-grandfather, Thomas Averleigh Mustain, who was born, c. 1720, in Lunenburg, Virginia. There were not many Finnish immigrants in the U.S. before the 1870s, when “The Great Migration” started, although some Finnish people settled in the Swedish colony of New Sweden between 1640 and 1655.

Dave’s paternal grandfather was Frank Leslie Mustaine (the son of Jefferson Keech Mustaine and Adriah/Adria Ellen Lucas). Frank was born in Ohio. Jefferson was the son of Meakin/Meakon Ashley Mustaine and Mary Elizabeth Keech. Adriah was the daughter of John L./Ellsworth Lucas and Sarah Carlisle.

Dave’s paternal grandmother was Metta Marie/Materee Parker (the daughter of John Anderson Parker and Emma Capicola/Capacola/Capitola Clancey). Metta was born in Ohio.

Dave’s maternal grandfather was named Friedrich Otto August David (the son of Foster David and Dara). Friedrich was born in Trzebiatów/Treptow, then in Prussia, Germany, now in Poland.

Dave’s maternal grandmother was Hedwig Johanna Krause (the daughter of Joseph Krause and Gertrude Huskin). Hedwig was born in Essen, Germany.

Sources: Family history of Dave Mustaine – http://heavymetalgenealogy.com

Genealogy of Dave Mustaine – https://www.geni.com

Genealogy of Dave Mustaine (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.wikitree.com

Genealogies of Dave’s paternal grandparents, Frank Leslie Mustaine and Metta Marie/Materee Parker – http://www.findagrave.com

Dave’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Death record of Dave’s maternal grandmother, Hedwig Johanna (Krause) David – https://familysearch.org