Mudcatter Bruce Olson of Washington, DC, spent years researching old songs back as far as he could go. He compiled all his work on his Website, but his Website disappeared shortly after Bruce died in 2003. His family let us reproduce his Website at Mudcat, and it's available here (click) It's a great resource.
(you can also find it on the QuickLinks dropdown menu on most Mudcat pages).

Mudcatter "Richie" Matteson has also done some good research work on songs. You can find his work at http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/. Richie also has at least two books published by Mel Bay.

-Joe-