Jonathan Browning was a contemporary of Joseph Smith, being born in October of 1805 in Tennessee. While living in Quicy Illinois Browning developed a reputation as a locksmith and gunsmith. (Sort of like barbers becoming surgeons, manufacturing locks required the same skill set as gunsmithing.)He became known for his "Harmonica" guns, sort of like this Remington.
Browning also was elected justice of the peace which put him in contact with Abraham Lincoln. It also allowed Browning's path to cross with the Mormons as they were driven out of Missouri. Browning visited Nauvoo, met the Prophet, and joined the church. He moved to Nauvoo in 1842 and set up shop.
His guns were engraved with this inscription: "Holiness to the Lord - Our Preservation"
The family settled in Ogden, and his son, John Moses Browning, continued in the weapons business.
They made side arms.
And machine guns.
You know those green metal army surplus boxes? Well, here's where they fit in.
And the Browning logo. (Gone is the "Holiness to the Lord" inscription.)
So, where do we fit it? Jonathan had a daughter named Asenath, who married Isaac Carling. They had a daughter named Emaline, who married Howard O. Spencer. They had a daughter named Malinda, who married Edgar C. Esplin. They had a daughter Garda, who is my mother.
2 comments:
Hey cousin. I am descended from Asenath as well (Isaac VW Carling, Jr. - Mary Carling Neves - Dawna Neves Randall - Dennis Randall - Bret Randall (me). The most important words Jonathan Browning ever said were "Well then why don't you try" when his son John said, flippantly, that "I could make a gun better than that." Find me on fb and add a friend--I am very interested in family history and recently discovered a wardrobe chest belonging to the Foote family that was made by Isaac Carling. I can send you pics.
I also am a descended from Asenath. Asenath's grandson Issac Carling Spencer is the true inventor of the Browning Machine gun. He invented the gun, but had no money. He went to his uncle John Moses Browning to get it patented. John got it patented and received 2 million. Issac Carling Spencer never received a penny for his invention.
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