William McPheeters (1778-1842) was born in Bethel, VA, educated at Liberty Hall Academy (now Washington and Lee University), and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1805. From 1810 to 1826 he was principal of the Raleigh Academy. He also sat on the University's board of trustees (1812-42), organized the First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh, helped establish the North Carolina Institution of the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, and served as an administrator and teacher in a female academy in Fayetteville, NC (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography 4:187-88).