John H. Lynds came to White Cloud, Doniphan County, Kansas with his parents in 1857 when the town of White Cloud was in its infancy. In 1862 Lynds, a young man of 18, began working in Atchison, later that same year joining a steamboat crew. This experience prompted him to serve on a Union gunboat for the duration of the U.S. Civil War. After the war he worked at a foundry in Mound City and later joined the crew of the Stonewall. The Stonewall was completely burned in October of 1868, but Lynds was one of the few survivors.

In 1870 Lynds moved back to White Cloud, and in 1871 he began a ferry boat business, which continued in operation for over 40 years. He also operated steamboats for grain shipments to Kansas City and other markets. In 1883 he formed a partnership with Howard Vanderslice in the wood and timber business, and they later formed a grain business. The grain business prospered, and Vanderslice moved to Kansas City, Missouri to open a grain commission on the Board of Trade. Later Lynds and Vanderslice opened an ice manufacturing plant and cold storage houses in Kansas City.

Lynds was also a contractor for the Burlington Railroad in Nebraska. In 1906 he moved to Kansas City, and in 1916 he sold his White Cloud grain interests to the Kelley Brothers.