Good-hearted farm boy Seth Snyder's life changed forever when he fell in love with Frannie Hughes. Frannie knew that Seth's dream was becoming a writer and persuaded him to follow his dream. At the time they were dating, Frannie saw a woman in England who looked a lot like her and with Seth and her family in tow, she tried to find out exactly who the woman was. After months of sleuthing, the truth was revealed: the woman, Sabrina, was Frannie's long lost half-sister! Though Frannie was resentful of Sabrina, Seth felt sorry for her and the two became close friends. Sabrina, who was an aspiring artist, was able to understand Seth's dreams and insecurities about being a writer. Encouraged by her support, he wrote a novel that he titled "Sabrina." At the same time Seth and Frannie became engaged. Though Seth wanted to make love, Frannie insisted on waiting until they were man and wife. Later, Seth mistakenly made love to Sabrina at the Snyder pond. When Sabrina admitted that it was her, and not Frannie, that he made love to, Seth freaked out. Though she offered to leave town, she felt obligated to tell Frannie the truth. Though Seth tried to tell Frannie that he didn't know it wasn't her, Frannie couldn't handle the fact that her sister made love to Seth before she did and broke the engagement. A truly remorseful Sabrina comforted Seth and though he was angry at first, he began to value her friendship again and, in time, the pair became engaged with the blessing of the Hughes family. Unfortunately Seth called off the wedding when he learned that Sabrina lied about loaning him the money he needed to publish his novel. Heartbroken, Sabrina left Oakdale. Not long after, Seth received word that she married artist Colin Crawley in Venice. With Sabrina gone, Seth decided to follow his dreams and moved to New York.

However, guilt at leaving the family farm got to Seth and he returned a few years later. When his mother found out that he returned for her, she put his fears to rest and told him that he shouldn't feel obligated to stay on the farm. At the same time, Seth got to know his former sister-in-law, Angel Lange, who was staying at the farm. Seth was disgusted at how his younger brothers had treated Angel. Both men, though sympathetic toward Angel, were in love with other women, and Seth felt that Angel deserved more than to be second best. Angel was touched by Seth's interest in her and the couple fell in love. After a beautiful wedding at the Snyder farm, Seth and Angel left Oakdale for New York. In June 1994, Seth and Angel briefly returned to town to attend Caleb's wedding to Julie Wendell, where Seth served as Caleb's best man. Seth also returned for Holden's funeral, in 2001, when Holden was presumed dead.