Yeah, Rick; Paul Clayton used to sing it, too, and I'm pretty sure he recorded it, neither of them being as old as the others mentioned so far in this thread. However...

I obtained a used set of the four-volume Ozark Folksongs, by Vance Randolph, back in 1961. Ever since, whenever I have a question about a song of this type, that's the first place I look for information. No collector or scholar that I've met or read (possibly excepting Herbert Halpert, and he hasn't published much, darn it!) has done more investigating of the 19th Century songsters. In this case, when I needed information for my note to the song on the Beech Mountain set, The Traditional Music of Beech Mountain, North Carolina, Volume 2, Folk-Legacy FSA-23, it was to Randolph I went.

I think we have to give this song back to p.d., if not anon or trad. Randolph collected two versions of it in the Ozarks, and reports finding it under the title "Lines of Love" in The Merchant's Gargling Oil Songster, Chicago, circa 1885. So I'd say it's a bit older than Grandpa Jones, Paul Clayton, Will Holt, or Martha Glillen. I've also collected a version of it from Joseph Able Trivett in Tennessee, as well as one from Mack Moody in Huntington, Vermont.

With nothing further to go on, I'd guess it's American in origin and widely spread through oral tradition. So, Philippa, if you want to adapt the song to fit our present concerns about spousal abuse, I'm sure no one could successfully claim that you have violated their copyright, even if they have actually obtained one on the song. With Randolph's printed reference as evidence, you could easily establish prior circulation. But note, please, that this is only folkloric information, not legal advice!

Sandy