Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dodge received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1867 and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1869.

[1] Dodge was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt on February 15, 1905, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated by Judge Francis Cabot Lowell.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 23, 1905, and received his commission the same day.

[1] Dodge was nominated by President William Howard Taft on July 10, 1912, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated by Judge William Schofield.

He was confirmed by the Senate on July 23, 1912, and received his commission the same day.