Joseph "Joe" Mustick was born in December of 1896 in Minsk, Russia, to Toney and Katherine Mustik. His birthdate is given variously as the 15th or 25th, and the spelling of his last name sometimes "Mustick" or "Mustik". Joseph depended on others to write for him, having never attended school, he was unable to read or write. When a signature was required of him, he signed with an X.
Joseph was a naturalized citizen. His World War I draft card describes him as having a medium build, medium weight, brown hair, and grey eyes. He was then living at 663 Garden in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and gave his next of kin as his brother, Mike, who lived in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to World War I, Joseph was employed as a laborer for the Nash Motor Company.
By 1940 Joseph was living in New York City, and for at least ten years he gave his address as the Kenton Hotel in the Bowery. The Museum of the City of New York website has a photo of one of the dormitory floors at the Kenton Hotel- bare wood floors, bare walls, no curtains, and long rows of simple cots with a locker beside each one.
During the 1940s and 1950s Joseph worked in restaurants, for up to 50 hours a week, as a dishwasher. He always stated that he was single, never married, and at some point he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Joseph's last home prior to his death was in Far Rockaway in Queens.
Joseph Mustick died June 12, 1980, at the age of 84. On July 29, 1980, he was buried on Hart Island.
Sources: Ancestry.com
U.S., Social Security Death Index
U.S, Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
U.S., WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
U.S, WWII Draft Registration Cards, 1942
1940 and 1950 U.S. Federal Censuses
Museum of the City of New York website