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==Missouri period== ==Missouri period==
In October 1838, Governor ] issued the ] that caused the followers of ] to flee ]. Browning came into contact with many of the ] exiles. Curious about the new settlement in the swampy lands of ], Browning paid a visit to ]. His meeting with ] ] led Browning to convert to the ].<!-- Do not change this name to "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". In the original text of the revelation, as referenced in this article, Smith wrote the name of the church "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" -->.<ref name = 1838name1>''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) '''1''':302–03.</ref><ref name = 1838name2>H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters (1994). ''Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 160.</ref> In October 1838, Governor ] issued the ] that caused the followers of ] to flee ]. Browning came into contact with many of the ] exiles. Curious about the new settlement in the swampy lands of ], and Browning paid a visit, meeting with the Latter Day Saints president ], which influenced Browning to convert to the ].<!-- Do not change this name to "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". In the original text of the revelation, as referenced in this article, Smith wrote the name of the church "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" -->.<ref name = 1838name1>''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) '''1''':302–03.</ref><ref name = 1838name2>H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters (1994). ''Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 160.</ref>


==Nauvoo period== ==Nauvoo period==
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Browning fled Illinois with ] in late 1846 to escape religious persecution. He settled in the community of Mosquito Creek near ] and repaired guns for the local settlers who were migrating to ]. He was awaiting ] to invite him to join the main body of settlers in ]. When the ] was formed during the War with Mexico, Browning wanted to join them, but was told by ] that his skills would not be needed by the soldiers as much as they would by the main body of pioneers in Kanesville. Browning fled Illinois with ] in late 1846 to escape religious persecution. He settled in the community of Mosquito Creek near ] and repaired guns for the local settlers who were migrating to ]. He was awaiting ] to invite him to join the main body of settlers in ]. When the ] was formed during the War with Mexico, Browning wanted to join them, but was told by ] that his skills would not be needed by the soldiers as much as they would by the main body of pioneers in Kanesville.


Browning received the word from Brigham Young to join the main party of settlers in 1852. He left Mosquito Creek, Iowa July 8, 1852 and migrated across the ] as the captain of ten in the Henry W. Miller Company. He arrived October 2, 1852, with six wagons and six hundred dollars in the ]. Browning moved to ] and established a gun shop there. As was common in the community at that time, Jonathan Browning was a ], having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children and had two stepdaughters; prominent among them was the gun designer, ], one of the most important figures in the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms and Matthew Sandefur Browning, co-founder of Browning Brothers. Jonathan ran his gun shop and invested in real estate in ]. His son ] recalled, "We ridiculed some of the guns we fixed, and I damned some of them when Pappy wasn't near, but it never occurred to us to make better ones. He was too old, and I was too young." Jonathan died June 21, 1879 in Ogden. Browning received the word from Brigham Young to join the main party of settlers in 1852. He left Mosquito Creek, Iowa July 8, 1852 and migrated across the ] as the captain of ten in the Henry W. Miller Company. He arrived October 2, 1852, with six wagons and six hundred dollars in the ]. Browning moved to ] and established a gun shop there. As was common in the community at that time, Jonathan Browning was a ], having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children and had two stepdaughters; prominent among them was the gun designer, ], one of the most important figures in the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms and Matthew Sandefur Browning (1859 – 1923), co-founder of Browning Brothers. Jonathan ran his gun shop and invested in real estate in ]. His son ] recalled, "We ridiculed some of the guns we fixed, and I damned some of them when Pappy wasn't near, but it never occurred to us to make better ones. He was too old, and I was too young." Jonathan died June 21, 1879 in Ogden.


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 21:15, 10 December 2018

Jonathan Browning
Bust photo
Personal details
Born(1805-10-22)October 22, 1805
Sumner County, Tennessee, United States
DiedJune 21, 1879(1879-06-21) (aged 73) Ogden, Weber County, Utah
Resting placeOgden City Cemetery
41°13′59″N 111°57′43″W / 41.233°N 111.962°W / 41.233; -111.962 (Ogden City Cemetery)
Home townOgden, Utah, United States
Known ForHarmonica gun
OccupationBlacksmith and Gunsmith
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Stalcup m. 1826, Elizabeth C. Clark m. 1854, Ann Emmett m. 1858
Children24
  including:
   John M Browning
ParentsEdmund Browning
Sarah B. Allen
RelativesIncluding: Val A. Browning (grandson)
Biography portal   LDS movement portal

Jonathan Browning (October 22, 1805 – June 21, 1879) was an American inventor and gunmaker.

Early life

Jonathan Browning was born October 22, 1805 in Sumner County, Tennessee. He started earning a living as a blacksmith and later switched to become gunsmith. He invented a "sliding breech" repeating rifle also called a Harmonica gun between 1834 and 1842 while living in Quincy, Illinois. He achieved success with the Harmonica gun, and he received many orders. It is estimated that each Harmonica gun took 2 weeks to make, and Browning sold the guns for twenty-four dollars.

Browning moved his family to White's Creek, near Nashville, about 1827 and resided there until the spring of 1833. Jonathan, along with his extended family, spent a season in Fairfield, Illinois, visiting with his sister Clarissa Neel.

About 1834, Jonathan and his brother James Green Browning bought farms thirty miles northeast of Quincy in La Prairie, Illinois. A family story has been passed down that he came to know a young lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln who was an overnight guest in his home on at least two occasions.

Missouri period

In October 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued the Extermination Order that caused the followers of Joseph Smith to flee Missouri. Browning came into contact with many of the Latter-day Saint exiles. Curious about the new settlement in the swampy lands of Nauvoo, Illinois, and Browning paid a visit, meeting with the Latter Day Saints president Joseph Smith, which influenced Browning to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints..

Nauvoo period

The label on a Browning gun from the Nauvoo period, stating: "Holiness to the Lord - Our Preservation."

Browning moved to Nauvoo, Illinois and joined the community in 1842, buying the Bird home and adding a connecting gunshop. In 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith was assassinated, and Browning was among the group which later fled Nauvoo in 1846.

Guns that Browning produced as a Mormon gunsmith were labeled "Holiness to the Lord - Our Preservation." The Jonathan Browning Home and Gunshop built in 1842 was restored during the 1960s. Registered with The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, the museum is open to the public at no charge.

Utah period

Browning fled Illinois with Brigham Young in late 1846 to escape religious persecution. He settled in the community of Mosquito Creek near Council Bluffs, Iowa and repaired guns for the local settlers who were migrating to Utah. He was awaiting Brigham Young to invite him to join the main body of settlers in Utah. When the Mormon Battalion was formed during the War with Mexico, Browning wanted to join them, but was told by Young that his skills would not be needed by the soldiers as much as they would by the main body of pioneers in Kanesville.

Browning received the word from Brigham Young to join the main party of settlers in 1852. He left Mosquito Creek, Iowa July 8, 1852 and migrated across the Rocky Mountains as the captain of ten in the Henry W. Miller Company. He arrived October 2, 1852, with six wagons and six hundred dollars in the Salt Lake Valley. Browning moved to Ogden, Utah and established a gun shop there. As was common in the community at that time, Jonathan Browning was a polygamist, having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children and had two stepdaughters; prominent among them was the gun designer, John Moses Browning, one of the most important figures in the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms and Matthew Sandefur Browning (1859 – 1923), co-founder of Browning Brothers. Jonathan ran his gun shop and invested in real estate in Ogden. His son John Moses recalled, "We ridiculed some of the guns we fixed, and I damned some of them when Pappy wasn't near, but it never occurred to us to make better ones. He was too old, and I was too young." Jonathan died June 21, 1879 in Ogden.

References

  1. Manuscript History of the Church, LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) 1:302–03.
  2. H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters (1994). Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 160.
  3. Mormon Historical Sites "Jonathan Browning Home and Gunshop, Nauvoo, Illinois", Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  • John Browning & Curt Gentry. John M. Browning, American Gunmaker. New York: Doubleday, 1964.

External links

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