William Black Dodds was born on September 17, 1708 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent his early youth on a farm nearby. Since the opportunities for obtaining an education were quite limited, William Dodds had to rely upon his own resources in order to quench his thirst for knowledge and his fondness for reading. He took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself to him to improve himself, and it was said that he was, in the truest sense of the word, a self-made and self-educated man. At the age of 16 he journeyed to Maysville, Kentucky to begin an apprenticeship in the shoemaking trade. Two years later he left Maysville and spent the next several years moving from place to place, practicing the art of a shoe cobbler. In 1835 he settled in Cincinnati and superintended the construction of a canal. By 1839, he had become involved in the coal industry, which pursuit he followed for a number of years, until in 1848 the business of steamboat transportation on the Ohio River attracted his attention.
By 1851, he was engaged in the manufacture of fireproof and burglarproof safes, later becoming the senior member of the firm of Dodds, MacNeale and Herban. He remained with the firm until 1867 when he retired and entered into the banking business, a profession that he followed for many years.
He was a member of the House of Representatives of the Ohio Legislature in 1970. On May 8, 1834 he was married to Miss Eliza McMaster; they were the parents of three sons.
M. W. Brother Dodds received his Entered Apprentice Degree in Nova Caesarea Harmony Lodge No. 2 of Cincinnati on September 12, 1843; his Fellow craft Degree on October 6, 1843 and Master Mason Degree on November 1, 1843. He was elected Worshipful Master of Nova Caesarea Harmony Lodge No. 2 in 1846, which position he held for 8 consecutive years.
In 1848 he was appointed senior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio. He was elected senior Grand Warden in 1851 and 1852, Deputy Grand Master in 1853 and Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1854 and 1855.
He was a member of Cincinnati Chapter No. 2 R. A. M., later becoming affiliated with Macmillan Chapter No. 19 R. A. M. He was also a member of Cincinnati Council No. 1 R. & S. M. and served the Grand council as Grand Puissant in 1849 and 1850. He received the orders of Knighthood in Cincinnati Commandery No. 3 K. T. and served as Grand Standard Bearer in 1846 and Grand Captain General in 1842. In addition, he was a member of the Valley of Cincinnati A. A. S. R. Most Worshipful Brother William Dodds was one of the first Grand Masters to strongly urge the standardization of the three symbolic degrees. Coupled with the appointment of a number of Grand Lecturers in various districts across the state to demonstrate and encourage the practice of a unified ritual by all symbolic Lodges.
M. W. Brother Dodds passed away on 4 April 1885 in Cincinnati, Ohio where services and burial were held. His body is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery, Section 42, Lot 18, Cincinnati, Ohio.