Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Gross, John Daniel

GROSS, John Daniel, clergyman, b. in Germany in 1737; d. in Canajoharie, N. Y., 25 May, 1812. During the Revolution he was exposed to many perils as pastor of a church on the frontier. At its close he removed to New York city. He was professor of German in Columbia in 1784-'95, and professor of moral philosophy in 1787-'95. He was a regent of the University of New York in 1784, and a trustee of Columbia in 1787. He became wealthy by buying soldiers' land-warrants. The last ten years of his life were spent on a farm. The degree of S. T. D. was conferred on him by Columbia in 1789. He published “Natural Principles of Rectitude” (New York, 1795).