Before There Was John Moses Browning:

[denton]

John Browning's father was Jonathan Browning, who operating a firearms shop in Nauvoo, Illinois, and again in Ogden, Utah. That's where John learned to make firearms.



Here are three of Jonathan's creations. The center one is a revolver. Top one has a sliding cartridge block.

John was born in Ogden, Utah, apparently the son of Jonathan's second wife.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I know that when the Mormon Battalion was raised to fight in the Mexican-American War, Johnathan was told by the elders that he could not enlist and that his services as a gonnesmyth were needed at home. The Mormon Battalion reached Californiastan where they served as a labor battalion before returning home.