Seth Crittenden Moffatt (August 10, 1841 – December 22, 1887) was a politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Moffatt was born in Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

, attended the common schools, and graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 at Ann Arbor in 1863. He was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 and commenced practice in Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...

. He served as prosecuting attorney for Grand Traverse

Grand Traverse County, Michigan

-Air service:*Grand Traverse County is served by Cherry Capital Airport, which is located near Traverse City.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,654 people, 30,396 households, and 20,730 families residing in the county. The population density was 167 people per square mile . ...

 and Leelanau

Leelanau County, Michigan

-History:The county's name is said to be a Native American word meaning "delight of life", but it is a neologism made up by Indian agent and ethnographer Henry Schoolcraft, who sometimes gave the name "Leelinau" to Native American women in his tales. He created many faux Indian place names in...

 Counties for ten years.

Moffatt was also a member of the Michigan Senate

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....

 (31st District) in 1871 and 1872 and a member of the constitutional commission (9th District) in 1873, then register of the United States Land Office at Traverse City 1874-1878. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from Grand Traverse District in 1881 and 1882, and served as speaker in both terms. He was also a delegate to the Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

 in 1884.

In 1884, Moffatt was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 from Michigan's 11th congressional district

Michigan's 11th congressional district

Michigan's 11th congressional district is a United States Congressional District located just northwest of Detroit, consisting of northwestern Wayne and southwestern Oakland counties...

 to the 49th Congress

49th United States Congress

The Forty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885 to March 4, 1887, during the first two years...

. He was re-elected in 1886 to the 50th Congress

50th United States Congress

The Fiftieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887 to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth...

, serving from March 4, 1885 until his death at the age of sixty-six in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

  Henry W. Seymour

Henry W. Seymour

Henry William Seymour was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Seymour was born in Brockport, New York and attended the public schools, Brockport Collegiate Institute, and Canandaigua Academy. He graduated from Williams College of Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1855...

 was elected on February 14, 1888, to fill the vacancy caused by his death.

Seth Moffatt was a resident of Northport

Northport, Michigan

Northport is a village in Leelanau Township, Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 648 at the 2000 census. When Leelanau County was formed in 1863, Northport served as the first county seat from 1863 to 1883.-Geography:...

and is interred at Oakwood Cemetery of Traverse City.