Much of the following information is based on records from Chesterfield County, Virginia where William was born per eldest son Thomas' death certificate. There is questionable information on William's own death certificate, however, which often happens when surviving family members don't quite have all the details down.

William was the son of Nace Dyson and Sarah Evely of Chesterfield County, Virginia. His birth year is stated be 1847 on his death certificate, and the birth month comes from the 1900 census. Every census he appears in states he was born in Virginia and not Maryland as stated on his death certificate. His parents were both born in Maryland, however, so that part was correct.

His parents, Nace and Sarah, can be found in the 1870 census in Chesterfield County, with a likely son Phil living one house away. Sarah was the daughter of Phil and Minta Evely per her death record, and as stated previously, she was born in Maryland. She died in Chesterfield County on 15 Aug 1879, and husband Nace died eight years later on 1 Dec 1887. He had remarried to a woman named Tabitha by then. Nace was also born in Maryland per census records.

William married Dorinda Jones in Virginia, and would have at least seven children, per census records: Thomas, Sarah, Ann, Lulu May, Henry William, Paul, and Violet. They were still in Chesterfield County when the 1880 census was taken, but had moved north to Wadsworth with numerous other families by April of 1883 when son Paul was born in Wadsworth.

Of the seven children, only daughter Sarah is unaccounted for at this time. There is a marriage record in Medina County for Sarah E. Dyson marrying Buchanan Scott in 1889, but no further record of them as been found yet to confirm this is her.