John A. Brownlow was born in 1797 in Chatham County, North Carolina, to John Brownlow and his unknown wife. He moved, along with his family, to Pendleton district South Carolina in about 1799. On June 30, 1821, he married Susan Wimpy, daughter of Archibald and Elizabeth Henley Wimpy. They lived in Pendleton District until the fall of 1827 when they moved, along with Archibald Wimpy, to Franklin County, Georgia. He was on the tax lists there until 1842. It was around this time that he moved to Forsyth County, Georgia. He remained there until his death in 1869. After his death his wife moved to White County, Georgia, to be near her sons but moved back before her death in 1882. They are both buried in the cemetery of Bever Ruin Baptist Church in Forsyth County, Georgia.