William Brayton (August 27, 1787 – August 5, 1828) was a Vermont attorney, politician, and judge. He served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1817 to 1821.

William Brayton was born in Lansingburgh, New York^[1] (now part of the city of Troy) on August 22, 1787.^[1] His family was residing in Greenfield, New York^[2] when Brayton attended Williams College from 1800 to 1801.^[3] He left college before graduating, studied law, and attained admission to the bar of Franklin County, Vermont in 1807.^[4] Brayton settled in Swanton, where he established a successful practice and became active in politics and government as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.^[4] In addition, he served as Swanton's postmaster from 1809 to 1815.^[5] Those who studied law under Brayton with the intention of becoming attorneys included David M. Camp.^[6] In 1815, Brayton was named presiding judge of the Franklin County Court.^[4] In 1816, he was chosen as one of Vermont's presidential electors, and he cast his ballot for James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins for president and vice president.^[1] In 1817, he represented Swanton in the Vermont House of Representatives.^[4]

In 1817, Brayton was appointed a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, succeeding William A. Palmer,^[7] and relocated to St. Albans.^[4] He served until 1821, and was succeeded by Charles K. Williams.^[7] After leaving the bench he moved to Burlington, where he practiced law until his death.^[8]

Brayton died in Burlington on August 5, 1828;^[8] he was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Burlington.^[9]

In 1812, Brayton married Hortensia Penniman (1795-1827), the daughter of Frances Montresor (Ethan Allen's widow) and Jabez Penniman.^[10] Their children included: Frances Margaret (1814-1854); Agnes Abigail (1816-1902); Cornelia (1817-1855); William Henry (1820-1854); and Hannibal (1823-1825).^[10]

Frances was the wife of Henry Norton, and died in Fayetteville, a now defunct community near Elkhorn, Wisconsin.^[10] Agnes married John Adam Brinegar, and died in Granby, Missouri.^[10] Cornelia was the wife of Valentine Seman Ferris (1809-1879) of Vergennes.^[10] William Henry died in California.^[10]

• General Catalogue of the Non-graduates of Williams College, 1796-1920. Williamstown, MA: Williams College. 1920.
• Allen, Orrin Peer (1907). The Allen Memorial: Descendants of Samuel Allen of Windsor, Conn., 1604-1907. II. Palmer, MA: C. B. Fiske & Company.
• Baldwin, Frederick W. (1886). Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Watchman and State Journal. p. 59.
• Fleetwood, Frederick G.; Vermont Secretary of State (1902). Vermont Legislative Directory. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Watchman Co.
• Ledoux, Rodney R. (1988). The History of Swanton, Vermont. Swanton, VT: Swanton Historical Society.
• Thompson, Zadock (1842). History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical. Burlington, VT: Chauncey Goodrich.

• Library of Congress Transcript (January 10, 2017). "Catalogue of Students in Williams' College, November 1800" (PDF). cdn.loc.gov/. Washington, DC: Library of Congress.
• "Elmwood Cemetery: a walking tour of Burlington's history" (PDF).

• Gilles, Paul S. (Summer 2012). "Ruminations: The Trial of Jesse and Stephen Boorn". Vermont Bar Journal. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Bar Association.
• Taft, Russell S. (February 1, 1894). "The Supreme Court of Vermont, Part III: William Brayton". The Green Bag. Boston, MA: Boston Book Company.