The Irvington neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, is named in his honor and in New Westminster, British Columbia, his home, "Irving House", is now a heritage site.

William built his new bride a large house along the river and they stayed there for nine years and had five children: Mary, John, Susan, Elizabeth, and Nellie.

Irving sold his boats to John Wright and William Moore left to go work on the Stikine River, briefly putting an end to their rivalry.

Irving immediately had another sternwheeler built, the Reliance and was kept busy shipping miners and supplies to Yale where they could travel on the nearly completed Cariboo Wagon Road to the goldfields at Barkerville.

[6] In 1863 and '64 rate wars erupted again when Irving's old rival, Moore returned from the Stikine River, rich with profits and ready to take on the new Reliance with his Flying Dutchman and Alexandra.

[10] Although he was only eighteen, William's son, John Irving, would take over his father's business and become every bit as successful in the river trade in British Columbia in the following decades.