Peggy Seeger sings a version of the "Lowell Factory Girl" on LP "The Female Frolic" (Argo, 1968) - using a text printed in John Greenway's "American Folksong of Protest" - her cover notes say :

" With the exception of mining, no industry has produced as many songs as the textile industry.
Much of the labour in these mills in both America and Britian was made up of women and small children. The beginning of the textile industry in America can be pinpointed at 1798, when a yarn-making mill was erected in Pawtucket by Samuel Slater, an English emigrant. Local labour soon began to drift in from neighbouring farms. The whole economic process of women entering the mills was soon forced, and return to the farms was impossible after 1837, a year which wiped out many New England small farmers. The rural haven disappearing, the urban labour communities began to solidify and become dependant on the mills. As the average weekly earnings of New England cotton operatives in 1830 was roughly the equivalent of nine shillings, we could say that this song dates approximately from 1820-1840.
The song is not as widespread as the idea - there are many pieces expressing the heartfelt wish to get away from the mill. It is not clear if "Lowell" refers to the Massachusetts textile town, or to the mill named after Francis Lowell, a man who was instrumental in mechanising the industry in 1815.   .. "


Cheers!
Rich-Joy