William Sloan was the son of Captain David Sloan, Sr. and Susannah Majors Sloan of Pendleton, Anderson Co, S.C. He was the first William born in the family. Although his birth year is not known, it was likely sometime after January of 1784, the date his parents married, (from Wilkes Co, N.C. Marriage Index). According to a history of the Sloan Family reprinted in the Keowee Courier, 7/26/1911, the first William died single around the age of 23, but it doesn't say the year he was born. Assuming the first William lived to be 23, that would make his death year around 1807. The second son who was also named William Sloan was born about 1805, according to census reports and probate record in the Old Pendleton District of S.C.

The grave of the first William has not been located. It's very likely that the first William was buried at the Sloan Plantation Cemetery in Anderson County, S.C. along with the rest of his family. When the area was slated to be flooded by Lake Hartwell, a relative, Thomas Seaborn Sloan, relocated many of the graves, moving them to other cemeteries on higher ground. (S.C. GenWeb Archives has an article on "The Sloan Plantation Cemetery" saying this re-interment happened in 1928 but according to the Corp of Engineers, who kept detailed records of the project, the bodies were instead moved sometime after October of 1959.) Corp of Engineer records show that six graves were found and moved from the Sloan Cemetery. They were Captain Sloan; Susannah Sloan; Elizabeth Sloan Stribling; Jesse Stribling; Mary Sloan, (daughter of David Sloan, Jr); and “Infant Sloan”. All six graves were relocated to Andersonville Cemetery. William’s grave has not been located in any of the cemeteries of Anderson Co, SC where his other relatives are buried. It's very likely that the first William's grave was not located when the other graves were moved and that it remains in the family cemetery, which is now under the waters of Lake Hartwell.