Florida. Governor (1845-1849 : Moseley)

William Dunn Moseley was born on February 1, 1795 in Lenior County, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1818. He practiced law at Wilmington, North Carolina. Moseley was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 1829, and served until 1836. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor in North Carolina in 1834.

Moseley bought a plantation on Lake Miccosukee in Jefferson County, Florida in 1835. He was elected to the Florida Territorial House of Representatives in 1840 and to the Florida Territorial Senate in 1844. In 1845, Moseley, a Democrat, defeated Richard Keith Call, the Whig candidate, for Governor in the first election under Statehood.

As Florida's first governor, he was faced with implementing the new state government. While he was governor, the Mexican War began and skirmishes with the Seminole Indians continued. Moseley left office on October 1, 1849 and returned to his plantation in Jefferson County. In 1851, he moved to Palatka, Florida, where he died in 1863.