Brownson was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1959) representing Indiana's 11th Congressional District.
He was the son of Dr. John White Brownson (1774–1824) and Laura (Chipman) Brownson (1782–1867), daughter of Chief Justice of Vermont Nathaniel Chipman (1752–1843).
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John White Brownson (March 12, 1807 Sunderland, Bennington County, Vermont – September 5, 1860 Sharon, Walworth County, Wisconsin) was an American politician from New York.
Caroline Brownson married Thomas C. Hart, later an admiral and the last Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Fleet.