William McFarland was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 1st congressional district of Tennessee. He was born on September 15, 1821 at Springvale Farm near Morristown, Tennessee in Jefferson (now Hamblen) County. He attended the common schools and Tusculum College in Greene County. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1861, and engaged in the practice of law in 1865 in Dandridge, Morristown, and Greeneville. He held several local judicial offices and was appointed judge of the county court in 1870.
He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth Congress. He served from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1877, but he was not a successful candidate for re-election in 1876 to the Forty-fifth Congress. He again resumed the practice of his profession. He later served as a mayor of Morristown, Tennessee for four years, and as a member of the board of education. He died in Morristown on April 12, 1900, and he was interred in City Cemetery.