Jonathon was among the thousands of Mormon pioneers in the mass exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois to Utah, established a gunsmith shop in Ogden, UT in 1852.

Jonathan had built a gunsmithy in Nauvoo, developing and refining advanced (for the time) repeating firearms and manufacturing techniques. The Browning gunsmithy in Nauvoo is now operated as a museum, and is open to the public at no charge.