Edgemont Boy Embraces Local Revolutionary War History

In a new history video, Omar Mansouri, 11, of Edgemont, tells the story of John “Jack” Peterson, whose quick action played a part in the dramatic events that foiled the traitorous plan of General Benedict Arnold to turn over West Point to the British.

The video is one of three featured in a new series for Revolutionary Westchester 250 (RW250) that places the spotlight on engaging and infrequently told stories associated with Westchester County’s significant role in the American Revolution. The “Revolutionary People: Patriots & Loyalists” series also captures—with a bit of whimsical humor—the historic contributions of an entrepreneurial woman loyalist and a young patriot officer.

In the video about Peterson, Mansouri explains that the patriot of African descent was raised in the family of Job Sherwood and lived along the Old Albany Post Road north of the Old Dutch Church now in the Village of Sleepy Hollow. As a member of the Continental Army, Jack fought in the Battle of Saratoga. Later, with the Westchester militia, he served on the shores of the Hudson River as events unfolded that were related to Arnold's treason. Watch Peterson video.

Two additional videos focus on Mollie Dobbs Sneden, who operated the family-run ferry service across the Hudson River from Dobbs Ferry to what became known as Sneden's Landing in Rockland County, and Captain George Hurlbut, who was stationed in Dobbs Ferry and became involved with French allies against the British at Tarrytown.

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Click here to see the Mollie Dobbs Sneden video narrated by Piya Karthikeyan, 11, of Ardsley. Click here to see the Captain Hurlbut video narrated by Lucy Richer, 15, of Hastings. Sixteen additional history videos also can be viewed on RW250’s YouTube channel.

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The videos were produced locally by Nader Sadre and Skylar Apter under the supervision of RW250 President Constance Kehoe. Sadre is on the Board of Trustees of the Irvington Historical Society and has professional experience with informational videos. Sadre and Apter suggested that local young people become engaged to narrate each story and the storytellers were selected with the cooperation of the Broadway Training Center in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Historical Integrity Of Stories

The historical integrity of the stories were supervised by Dr. Erik Weiselberg, Irvington’s village historian and the principal historian of RW250 as well as a social studies teacher at Irvington High School. During 2020, he was named New York State Daughters of the American Revolution Outstanding Teacher of American History.

RW250 is the nonprofit corporation created to build awareness and appreciation for the county’s revolutionary era history. The videos were created after the organization received a competitive grant of $5,000 from Greenway Heritage Conservancy HRV, Inc., a nonprofit under the guidance of Executive Director Scott Keller that was established by New York State during 1981 to serve as the management entity for the Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

“These are fascinating stories of important individuals whose revolutionary adventures took place right here in our backyard and which shaped the course of history,” said Dr. Weiselberg, who has shared his teaching approaches with the Westchester Lower Hudson Council for the Social Studies, has made numerous slide presentations for RW250 and has published articles about local revolutionary war history during the last several years. “While designed to be entertaining for audiences of all ages, the stories depicted in the videos are nonetheless rooted in rigorous historical research, including consultation of original sources and the corroboration of multiple and often contradictory accounts, all considered within the larger historical context of the Revolutionary War period.”