William Kirkman was born in Bury, England on December 7, 1832 to a Scotch-Irish factory foreman. He immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 and moved to California in 1853. Between 1853 and 1862, he lived in Australia, the Sandwich Islands, and British Columbia. In 1862, he returned to California, but soon migrated northeast, as he began supplying cattle for miners in Boise, Idaho and Walla Walla, Washington.

In San Francisco, California on February 2, 1867, he married Isabella Potts, a native of Balla Bay, Ireland who had emigrated to live with her sister. They moved to Idaho City, Idaho to pursue economic ventures in the cattle business. After enduring the difficult winter of 1868-1869 and heavy economic and personal losses, including the death of their son George, they returned briefly to San Francisco.

In 1870, William and Isabella Kirkman moved to Walla Walla, Washington and built a small house on Colville St. The Kirkman House preserved today as a museum was built around 1873. William Kirkman and John Dooley partnered as cattle ranchers and enjoyed great economic success. In 1890, Kirkman bought out Dooley's interest in the business and founded the Walla Walla Dressed Meat Company. He also became involved in wheat farming, operating two farms near Dry Creek.

William and Isabella Kirkman were active in the Walla Walla community. William Kirkman served on the City Council, the School Board, and the Whitman College Board of Trustees. He was also a founding member and president of the Walla Walla Club and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892. The Kirkmans had four children who survived into adulthood: William H. Kirkman, Fanny A. Kirkman, (Mrs. Allen G. Reynolds), Myrtle B. Kirkman, and Leslie G. Kirkman.

William Kirkman died in Stevens Point, WI in 1893. Isabella Kirkman died near Belfast, Ireland in 1931.