 In 1865, the St Johnsbury Caledonian, newspaper from near his former home in Groton, Vermont, reported Bill was already dead.An 1889 History of the police force in Providence reported that Bill died at the age of 80, which would have been around 1882.Bill was memorialized as a character in the 1872 play, "Escaped from Sing Sing" and again in the 1875 play, "Broke Jail".