William L. Menefee, born ca. 1796 in Knox County, Tennessee, served in the Tennessee Militia in the War of 1812. He studied law and was admitted to the bar sometime prior to when he moved to Alabama. In 1830 he and his wife Agnes (Sutherland) and their seven children moved to Jackson County, Texas. Menefee became involved in Texas' affairs with Mexico and represented Lavaca County as a delegate to the conventions of 1832 and 1833. In 1835 he represented Austin municipality at the consultation at San Felipe and later served as a member of the general council of the provisional government of Texas. Menefee was elected Colorado municipality's first chief justice in 1836. On March 2, 1836, he was among the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. In late 1836 Menefee was appointed Colorado County's first county judge by Republic of Texas President Sam Houston. Elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1837, he was one of five congressmen chosen to select the site for the Texas Capitol. An unsuccessful candidate for the Republic of Texas vice-presidency in 1841, he later served as Fayette County's state representative from 1853 to 1857. He died on October 29, 1875, and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.