John Van Mons Lindley, pomologist and early nurseryman, was born in Monrovia, Indiana. He was also known as John Van Lindley, but as an adult preferred the name J. Van Lindley. He was the second son of Joshua Lindley, one of the earliest pomologists in both Indiana and North Carolina and a prominent Quaker. He was the great-great-grandson of Thomas Lindley Sr., on whose land the Battle of Lindley's Mill was fought.