William Reynolds was a Yorktown merchant. In 1774 he was a member of the York County Committee formed to enforce the non-importation agreement protesting Britain's Intolerable Acts. In 1774 Yorktown patriots destroyed tea imported by merchants William Prentis and John Norton. Reynolds refused to support the destruction of his fellow merchants' property and consequently lost his seat on the Yorktown Committee in the next election. He continued to support the patriot cause, however, working closely with the Virginia Committee of Safety to import war supplies to equip the Virginia army.