I think I found a recording of an Adirondack version of "The House Carpenter". It is on an album by Lee Knight called "Adirondack Ballads and Folk Song - From Lumberwoods, Iron Mines, and Communities (2005). Here is the CD:

http://www.bloatedtoe.com/store/product.php?productid=16426

It is the last track and is combined with "The Gypsy Davey." I have not heard this recording and so far have not found a copy of the lyrics. Has anybody heard this and does anybody have the lyrics?

It says that these are "Songs from the Collection of Historian Marjorie Lansing Porter." And we have another collection! Here is some more information on Marjorie Lansing Porter from our friends at the TAUNY website:

http://adirondackmusic.org/pages/50/16/marjorie-lansing-porter

I've done some initial searches for more information on this collection but I haven't found much yet. Here is what it says from the Library of Congress:

"AFS 22,104-22,136: Marjorie Lansing Porter Collection
Thirty-three 10-inch tapes of conversations, instrumentals, songs, and stories recorded in the Adirondack region of New York by Marjorie Lansing Porter, 1943-67. Obtained through loan from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. The collection includes one and 1/2 linear inches of recording logs, correspondence, concordances, and notes. (66 hours; RWA 2671-2703)"

I've just discovered this LOC site and and realize that there are a bunch of collections out there, most of which I am not going to be able to access!

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/guides/NewYork.html

I'll have to spend some more time looking at this.