When General John Chandler resigned the post of Senate President to serve Maine as a United States Senator he was succeeded by William Moody of Saco.
Moody was born at Saco on July 10, 1770 and shared with Chandler his humble origins and lack of education. A joiner by trade who eventually kept a tavern just outside Saco on Portland road, Moody represented Maine at the General Court of Massachusetts as a Legislator from 1804 and served in that same body as a Senator from 1812 to 1820.
A delegate to Maine’s Constitutional Convention in 1819 and a member of the first Maine Senate, Moody’s time in office as President of that body was very brief. After succeeding Chandler, Moody himself resigned the post on June 28, 1820 to accept the position of High Sheriff of York County, a post which he held concurrently as Town Treasurer of Saco.
Moody’s political career was cut short when he died suddenly on March 15, 1822 at the age of fifty-two. A short biography prepared on him around the turn of the century attributed his success to "native intellect" rather than formal training.