Mollie Sneden
American ferry operator
Mollie Sneden (January 13, 1709 – January 31, 1810) born as Mary Dobbs was the operator of a ferry service at Palisades, New York, in the United States, before and after the American Revolution. During the war she was prohibited from running the ferry because of her British sympathies. Mollie Sneden is listed as a Woman of Distinction by the New York Senate.
Early life
Sneden was born Mary Dobbs in Westchester County, New York, in 1709. Her parents, John and Abigail Dobbs, baptized her in Tarrytown, New York. Sneden grew up with two half-brothers by her father's first wife and four siblings by her mother, his second wife. The Dobbs Family operated a ferry across the Hudson River. Ferry operation began with Mollie's half-brother, William, in 1730, departing from an Indian village called Wysquaqua, later Dobbs Ferry. (see "Dobbs Ferry: The Beginning" by Jean Fritz in The Ferryman newsletter published by Dobbs Ferry Historical Society, November 1993 The route of Dobbs Ferry across the Hudson River is recognized as one of the earliest of the Hudson ferry routes. Mollie's husband, Robert Sneden Jr., though a carpenter and farmer by trade, assisted William in running the ferry.
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