On September 9, 1775, the NC Provincial Congress appointed William Person as Colonel/Commandant over the Bute County Regiment of Militia. He resigned his commission in April of 1776. He was replaced by Col. Philemon Hawkis, Jr. who only served a short duration and resigned, then replaced by Col. Thomas Eaton.

William Person, a planter, was a delegate to the Colonial Assembly from 1771 to 1774. He was a delegate to the First Provincial Congress of August 1774 in New Bern; the Second Provincial Congress of April 1774, also in New Bern; the Third Provincial Congress of August 1775 in Hillsborough; and, the Fourth Provincial Congress of April 1776 in Halifax.

William Person, the son of William and Ann Person, was born on November 30, 1734 in Surry County, VA. He married Martha Eaton on September 2, 1759 in Granville County, NC, and they had six known children - Sarah, Martha, William, Thomas, Mary, and Benjamin Eaton. He died in 1778 at his home in Bute County, NC.