1882        Alden, W.L. "Sailors' Songs." _Harper's New Monthly Magazine_ (July 1882): 281-6.

Alden set the tone for the description of "Lowlands". This is accompanied by score, for the first time.

Perhaps the wildest, most mournful, of all sailor songs is "Lowlands." The chorus is even more than usually meaningless, but the song is the sighing of the wind and the throbbing of the restless ocean translated into melody.

I dreamt a dream the other night.
Lowlands, Lowlands, Hurrah, my John.
I dreamt I saw my own true love.
My Lowlands aray.

Much care was evidently given to "Lowlands" by the shanty-men. It has often been improved. In its original form the first chorus was shorter and less striking, and the words of the second chorus were, "My dollar and a half a day." It is to be regretted that no true idea can be given on paper of the wonderful shading which shanty-men of real genius sometimes gave to this song by their subtle and delicate variations of time and expression.

Although I don't know where he got the info from, note that he says the "dollar and a half" was the original chorus.
We won't find any "original," but perhaps these first few references will challenge the idea that the "dollar and a half" was some sort of bastardization of later times.