John Moss.

About John Moss

John Moss was a Jewish merchant, shipping magnate, and civic leader. He emigrated to the United States as a glass engraver from London. Moss soon turned to other ventures after glass engraving proved insufficient to sustain a decent wage. He opened a dry goods store in 1807 and soon became a major importer, eventually owning a small merchant fleet. In 1823, he turned control of the business to his brothers and turned his attention to various civic enterprises. He was a founding member of the Musical Fund Society. He served as a steward of the Society of Sons of St. George a mutual-aid society for former Englishmen like himself and was a benefactor of the Philadelphia Orphan Asylum. In 1825, he acted as judge of engraved glass during the Franklin Institute's second exposition of American craftsmanship. .In 1828 he entered into politics by being elected to the Philadelphia City Council's lower house, the Common Council, on the Jacksonian Democratic Party ticket. It was in this capacity that he played a role in the establishment of the Wills Eye Hospital. Later in life he became a supporter of Isaac Leeser's American Jewish Publication Society. In 1840, in the wake of the Damascus Affair Moss led a protest committee from the city of Philadelphia.