 He was the second son of David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford, by his wife Catherine Campbell, daughter of Sir John Campbell of Lorn.Along with his brother David Lindsay, lord Edzell, he was sent under the care of James Lawson to complete his education on the continent.The French Wars of Religion meant they had to return rapidly from Paris to Dieppe, then moving to the University of Cambridge; however, as there is no record of him in Venn's "Alumni Cantabrigienses" John may have returned to Paris subsequently.