W. L. DODD, M.D., of Amwell township traces his ancestry back to Rev. Thaddeus Dodd, a man of pioneer fame in that township, concerning whom the following excerpt has been taken from Dr. Waine's "Historical and Farewell Addresses:" "In the summer of 1777 Mr. Thaddeus Dodd of Morris, N.J., a licentiate of the Presbytery of New York, paid the Ten-Mile people a visit. They were extremely anxious that he should settle among them. But how was he to be supported? Silver and gold they had none; but such as they had they freely offered. Mr. Dodd accepted the call, for he was a man of kindred spirit. He went back to Virginia, was ordained by his Presbytery, and brought his family for a permanent residence to Ten-Mile, in the autumn of 1779. His position was advanced post, the forlorn hope of our Western Zion. Long after the members of other congregations could go and come in safety, those of Ten-Mile were kept in constant terror by the inroads of the savages. Mr. Dodd was confessedly the most learned among the ministerial compeers of the West. He possessed an extraordinary mathematical genius. He was an excellent classical scholar, and, had time permitted and inclination prompted, he might have excelled in the composition of poetry. The first classical school west of the Alleghenies was established by Rev. Dodd in 1782, and he was also the first principal of Washington Academy (now Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Penn.). Rev. Dodd was a great lover of music, he had a delicate ear, and had thoroughly mastered the science. He delivered sermons and lectures on the science, and in that way aroused the interest of the people. Dr. Dodd died of pulmonary consumption on the 20th of May, 1793, after a ministry of nearly sixteen years. Rev. Cephas Dodd, the son of Thaddeus Dodd, succeeded his father about ten years after his father' death, in the Upper and Lower Ten-Mile congregation. He was possessed of a clear, strong mind, enriched by manly culture and varied learning." Rev. Cephas Dodd, also practiced medicine in connection with hi ministerial duties. He was the great-grandfather of the subject of our sketch on his mother's side, and of his lineal descendant seven have chosen the medical profession. Daniel F. Dodd, father of subject, was born December 25, 1825. On August 6, 1853, he was married to Ruth McFarland, a lineal descendant of Maj. Daniel McFarland, of Revolutionary fame, through William McFarland, Esq., James and John McFarland. Daniel F. Dodd, who was a farmer, died August 20, 1880; his widow is still living, and is in her fifty-eighth year. Dr. W. L. Dodd was born October 17, 1866, in Amwell township, where he has always resided. He pursued his literary studies at home under the direction of a tutor, and in 1886 attended a course of lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore; then studied a year with hi preceptor, Dr. W. S. Dodd, at Amity, this county. In 1887 he began a course at the Western Pennsylvania Medical College at Pittsburgh, graduating in the spring of 1888, the youngest member in a class of forty-five. After leaving school he practiced with his preceptor at Amity one year, and then, having won a large and lucrative practice, bought him out. Descended from eminent patriots, sturdy soldiers and intellectual leader, this intelligent young physician has a bright future opening before him. Young in years, but older in experience, with the wisdom of a race of brilliant men behind him, he can not fail to become one of the foremost men in his profession.

Text taken from page 718 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed April 1997 by Bobbi Steele of Indianapolis, IN as part of the Beers Project. Published April 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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