John Glen was born in Laurens, South Carolina

Laurens, South Carolina

Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,916 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County.-History:...

 and moved to Decatur, Georgia

Decatur, Georgia

Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...

 in 1826 where he worked as a clerk in the Superior Court of DeKalb County

DeKalb County, Georgia

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...

.
He moved to Atlanta in 1850 to work for the Georgia Railroad which he did for 41 years.
He acted as mayor of that city, taking over when Allison Nelson

Allison Nelson

Allison Nelson was the ninth mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a brigadier general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War....

 suddenly resigned in 1855.

After the war, he moved to Kirkwood

Kirkwood (Atlanta)

Kirkwood is a neighborhood in eastern Atlanta, Georgia that was designed by architect, Will Saunders. It is situated entirely in DeKalb County and near Lake Claire, East Lake, and Oakhurst. Kirkwood is bound on the north by DeKalb Avenue and on the south by Memorial Drive...

nearer to his in-laws properties. He married Eliza Shumate in the 1830s and they had 10 children.