William Dunn Moseley
| William Dunn Moseley | |
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| 1st Governor of Florida | |
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In office June 25, 1845 – October 1, 1849 |
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| Preceded by | John Branch (as the Governor of Florida Territory) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Brown |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate | |
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In office 1829-1837 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1, 1795 Lenoir County, North Carolina |
| Died | January 4, 1863 (aged 67) Palatka, Florida |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Hill Moseley (Widowed by time in office) |
| Signature |  |
William Dunn Moseley (February 1, 1795 – January 4, 1863) was an American politician. A Democrat and North Carolina native, Moseley became the first Governor of the state of Florida, serving from 1845 until 1849 and leading the establishment of the state government.
William Dunn Moseley was born on February 1, 1795 at Moseley Hall in Lenoir County, North Carolina, which is a different place than Moseley Hall on the Northeast branch of the Cape Fear created by colonial official Edward Moseley, to whom he was not related. He was the son of Matthew and Elizabeth Herring Dunn Moseley, who built this Moseley Hall. He and his father were distant descendants of William Moseley, the immigrant ancestor, who came to Virginia in 1649 and built Greenwich near Norfolk on the Elizabeth River in what was then Lower Norfolk County. The plantation house was later known as Rolleston Hall.
Moseley graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1818. He was of entirely English ancestry, all of which had been in America since the days of the original thirteen colonies. He received his master's degree from UNC in 1821. While at the university, Moseley was the roommate of future president James K. Polk.
In 1822, Moseley married Susan Hill; the couple had six children.
In 1817, Moseley became a tutor at the university. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar and began practice in Wilmington. Like many lawyers of the time, law was not his only profession; Moseley also farmed and was a schoolteacher.
From 1829 to 1837, Moseley represented Lenoir County in the North Carolina Senate, serving as speaker for four terms between 1832 and 1835. He lost the Democratic nomination for governor in North Carolina by three votes.
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