William "Bill" (surname unknown) was an African-American, probably drawn to Mexican Alta California through circumstances not unfamiliar to those of his contemporary, James P. Beckwourth. Was he born a slave or a freeman? Did he cross the continent or come to Alta California as a seaman aboard a trading vessel? We probably will never know. What we do know is that after Bill arrived in Alta California he was hired to do some work for "Captain" William Dana of Rancho Nipomo. Late on the afternoon of March 9, 1838, two Anglo-Americans arrived at the Dana Adobe seeking lodging for the night, Faxon Dean Atherton, a business associate of Dana, and Atherton's guide, Thomas Stuart. The two men had shared a bottle of the local aguardiente (brandy) during their ride from Port San Luís and Stuart was quite intoxicated. Shortly after their arrival, Stuart saw Bill on the front porch and got into an argument with William Dana over Bill's presence. Shortly thereafter Stuart went out onto the front porch where Bill was standing, drew his knife and plunged it into Bill's chest, severely wounding him. Bill staggered to the front door holding his chest and collapsed on the porch. Stuart justified this foul deed by declaring that he had promised Bill "the next time I see you, I'm going to kill you." The nature of their dispute is not known. While Bill lay dying on the porch, William Dana came out and assessed that Bill's wound was fatal. Kneeling over the dying man, Dana asked for some water and there on the porch, he baptized Bill and prayed with him. Bill died soon thereafter. Stuart was placed under arrest and taken to the closest Mexican constable, then at the former Mission La Purísima Concepción. One of the mission's rooms had been converted to a jail and Stuart was locked up. The fact that Dana had baptized Bill before he died was sufficient to warrant his burial in a Catholic cemetery, so Bill's body was taken along with Stuart to La Purísima Concepción where Bill was buried by Fr. José Joaquín Jimeno as "Guillermo" in the mission cemetery on March 16, 1838 (LPC Death 02787). Stuart was later taken to Santa Bárbara for trial, but his fate is not known since no record has been found regarding the outcome of the trial.