William L. Copeland was born in Ohio about 1846. He served Crittenden County in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1873 and was re-elected for the 1874-75 term. He was described as a lawyer, policeman, and county assessor. He died in 1885. No other information about him is known.
Sources: Blake J. Wintory, African-American Legislators in the Arkansas General Assembly, 1868-1893, LXV Ark. Hist. Q. 385 (Wint 2006);