“Molly Dear Good Night” was entered and deposited for copyright on April 6, 1861, by Firth, Pond & Co.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family, “In 1861, Stephen published only four songs with his old firm, Firth, Pond & Company: ‘Don’t Bet Your Money on de Shanghai,’ a pleasant return to his old-time rollicking minstrel style, ‘Molly Dear, Good Night,’ ‘Our Willie Dear is Dying,’ and ‘Farewell, Sweet Mother.’”