Daily AncestorFerryman
A ferryman ran a ferry, carrying passengers, animals and goods across a river, lake or harbor for a fare.
Wiktionary defines a ferryman simply as a man who operates a ferry. Ferries carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water at much lower cost than a bridge or tunnel.
Some early ferries were team boats, driven by horses turning a capstan or treadmill; the Experiment on Lake Champlain in the 1800s was one. In Greek myth the ferryman Charon carried souls across the River Styx.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Abel Truax, 49, Ferryman, N.Y.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Ferryman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/ferryman. Last checked 2026-10-12.