William Safford received leave to marry Sarah E. Griffith (b. ca. 1847) on 3 January 1866. The couple married at Sarah's home in Sandy Hill, New York, near William's hometown of Glens Falls.
Safford received his discharge from the Army on 28 February 1867 at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. He served four years, one month, and six days, all with Battery B of the 5th U.S. Artillery. Safford and his wife Sarah returned to Sandy Hill, New York, where he began working in a paper mill.
Safford wrote to Henry Algernon du Pont in April 1872 and March 1873 requesting aid in obtaining a job at the War Department. Men who had served with du Pont often wrote to him asking for help with everything from finding jobs to getting out of jail. Either du Pont was unable to help or the job did not work out; by 1880 William Safford was back in Sandy Hill working at the paper mill living with Sarah and his two young sons.
William Safford ended his days living in Schenectady, New York with his second wife Cordelia (whom he married in 1893). He died there sometime after 1920.