William Bryan (1747-1800) was a resident of Bertie County who served as a justice for the Bertie County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions. He also represented Bertie County in the Provincial Congress in 1775. In 1777 he signed on to several bonds of security promising that men who refused to sign the oath of allegiance to the State of North Carolina would leave the state in 60 days. He also was ordered to administer the oath of allegiance to residents in Captain Rhodes' district in order to make sure that North Carolina's independence was not threatened.