Not sure if this thread is still active; however, if so and following up on my post of 22 Feb 2011 in a related thread [there was an old man and he had two sons], I have a further little story about "The Prodigal Son" song.

The words I learned from my father and grandfather were a combination of the original poster's (Edmund Flynn) and those of Jim Dixon and Annalise Kennedy. Dad thought HIS dad may have written it. I thought that might be so until I came across this thread. I actually played (on guitar) and sang the song for a church fundraiser about 20 years ago so I know at least a version of the music (by ear) to it as well.

Here is the "further little story": As I was doing family history recently, I came across a newspaper article in the Ballarat Star (Australia – Saturday, February 28, 1891), the city where my third great uncle, Joseph Roff was living from about 1851 to 1894. While there, he developed links to Ballarat's very earliest theatres as a costumer and occasionally, as a writer. The article is a sketch of his travels in about 1890 entitled "Jottings from England and America" http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/204145374?searchTerm=%22Joseph%20Roff%22%20&searchLimits=

Joseph notes: "I visited several theatres in America. One play had been running at one of the New York theatres for five years [sic since 1885]. I went to see it at an afternoon performance. It was purely American, and portrayed American farm life in the interior, and the peculiarities of American talk and character. It was called the "Homestead," (sic "The Homestead"] and had a large amount of comedy as well as pathos in the narrative. It described the old upright farmer's son who had run away from the homestead, and was dissipating his means, body and mind, in the low places of New York; the old man searching for his lost son, and eventually finding him. It recalled the scene in the New Testament of the prodigal son. This old story is true in every country in the world, and it appeals to the hearts of men and women everywhere.

From this information, it might be concluded that the song might have been written with "The Homestead" play/comedy in mind, sometime between:
-        1885 [when the play The Homestead" began running in New York according to Joseph Roff]
-        1891 [Jim's first reference (From Popular College Songs compiled by Lockwood Honoré (Cincinnati: The John Church Co., 1891), page 113 - Words, Louis Lambert. Air: When Johnny Comes Marching Home- which has different words and music] and
-        1897 [Jim's second reference (The Best College Songs compiled by Emil Schwab (Boston: C. B. Brown & Co., 1897), page 46 - Words by Bill Nye. Music arranged by Josephine Gro – which has similar words but no reference to the music)

Not sure I am any further to definitively resolving this version of the song's roots; however, from the posters, the song was known in many places (Florida, Tennessee, Victoria and Alberni, British Columbia) and may have been one of those songs where words and music were adjusted to fit the audience (minstrel show, vaudeville, pub, church talent show, etc).

Lindley Roff, Kamloops, BC