Hi,

TY Mick- the Family Herald & Weekly Star versions are probably one version- reprinted- and who knows the source?

I found one collected by Bayard in PA 1943 who says, it was "brought to this country in the latter nineteenth century by a Scottish coal miner."

http://bluegrassmessengers.com.temp.realssl.com/the-wee-cooper-o-fife--gordon-pa-1943-bayard.aspx

Richie