Hon. William D. Brayton, son of Hon. Charles and Rebecca (Havens) Brayton, was born in the village of Apponaug, Warwick, R. I., November 6, 1815. His early education was received at home, and after attending private schools he entered Kent Academy, in East Greenwich, where he remained from 1827 to 1830, and in 1831-32 pursued his studies at Kingston Academy under Hon. Elisha R. Potter. In 1832 he entered Brown University in the class that included Professor J. L. Lincoln, Rev. A. N. Arnold, D. D., William H. Potter, S. L. Dunnell, S. P. Shepard, and Hon. J. P. Knowles; but in the autumn of 1834 he left the University on account of his father's death and his own impaired health. From 1835 to 1838 he engaged in the lumber trade in the firm of G. A. & W. D. Brayton, acting also as deputy town clerk of Warwick.
In 1841 he was elected to the State Legislature, and re-elected in 1842, but resigned and was commissioned quartermaster of the Fourth Regiment of Militia, serving in this capacity during the troublesome times of the 'Dorr War'. In 1844 he became town clerk of Warwick, and in the following year resigned this office to become a member of the town council, and for many years served in this body, finally becoming its president. In 1847 he was elected president of the Warwick Council, and in 1848 became Senator from Warwick, in the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly. In 1851 he was elected Representative to the General Assembly; in 1855 again chosen to the State Senate; and in 1856 was one of the electors of President and Vice-President. In 1857 he was elected State Representative to the Thirty-Fifth Congress of the United States, and served through the stormy period which preceded the Civil War until 1861. He was for many years a co-laborer of Hon. H. B. Anthony and Hon. N. F. Dixon and many others of the leading men of the State of Rhode Island. He supported the cause of the Union with all his resources, and was indefatigable in enlisting, equipping, forwarding and paying soldiers, aiding them in procuring bounties, and in caring for their families. In 1862 he was appointed by President Lincoln, Collector of Internal Revenue for the Second District of Rhode Island. He resigned his collectorship in 1871, and in 1872 was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in Philadelphia.
Mr. Brayton was one of the commissioners to direct the erection of the State Prison. For some time prior to his death he had charge of the money order department of the post office of Providence. In political affiliation he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, of which he later became a member. He was earnest in his support, both public and private, of all efforts toward the improvement of public education and the development of civic resources. In 1859 Brown University conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts in recognition of his scholarly qualities and public services. He was a member of the Baptist Church of Apponaug, and active in support of its charitable undertakings. Hon. William Daniel Brayton married, in September, 1839, Anna Ward Clarke, daughter of Ray Clarke, of East Greenwich; she died in 1858, and he married (second), in 1866, Susan Josephine Baker, of Warwick, who died in 1874. Among the several children of Hon. William D. Bratyon was General Charles Ray Brayton
