John A. Lindsey was born in 1865, the year following the end of the Civil War, and was the son of George and Artamissa Stewart Lindsey of the Glassy Mountain area.
Life was difficult for his and other families during the years of Reconstruction, but he managed to earn his degree in medicine and returned to the area to begin his practice.
After returning as a young physician, he was very active in Glassy Mountain Baptist Church and served on a number of committees in aiding the church’s operation and outreach to the community.
As a bachelor, he lived in the home of James and Dallas Pennington Wilson (originally built in 1820 by Lewis Dickey) at the intersection of the Old State Road (present day Highway 101) and Tugaloo Road (Highway 414).
His office was located about fifty yards southeast of the Wilson home and fronted on the Old State Road. Most of his patients called his office “The Doctor’s Shop.” He kept drugs and prepared prescriptions in it and compounded some of his own.
Well respected and welcomed in the surrounding communities, he found himself busy from morning until night during the week. When he did not travel by horseback, young James Alexander “Jim” Howard drove his horse and buggy for him on these outlying visits. It was Jim’s second paying job (his first had been hauling moonshine in a wagon down Glassy Mountain).
Sunday was Dr. Lindsey’s in-office day. Patients came by horseback, in wagons or in buggies from as far away as Saluda.
In the latter years of his practice, he traveled by automobile.
He died in 1924 at the age of 59, still a bachelor. When questioned why he never married, he often said, “Didn’t have time.”
Dr. Lindsey lived his Hippocratic Oath to the letter, and always gave aid and comfort to anyone who needed medical attention, even though they did not have resources to pay his bill.
According to the man who kept his account books, there were numerous times when he would say, “That man is in poor circumstances financially; mark his bill paid.”