William Bryant was born on September 7, 1795 in Cornish, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. He married Mary Cone on January 22, 1834 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
William claimed Joseph Smith was lazy and drank alcohol.[1] William was an active member of the Masonic Lodge in Canandaigua, New York. He was residing in Manchester by 1881.[2] He then moved to Hopewell, Ontario County, New York. William died on February 22, 1883 in Hopewell, and was buried in the Dillon Cemetery.[3]
[1] Backman, Joseph Smith’s First Vision, p. 118.
[2] Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:88.
[3] “William Bryant,” in Find a Grave Index.