The first folk album that I can recall hearing was by Odetta.

I was impressed by Odetta's voice, the songs, and the fact that was one of the first Black woman I had ever seen who wore her hair in an afro.

All these many years later I have forgotten the name of that album, but remember that she performed that hangman song.

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Dorothy Scaborough's "On The Trail Of Negro Folk Songs", Folklore Associates edition, 1963; originally published in 1925 by Harvard University Press, has an entire section on African American's perservation and reworking of Traditional [UK] songs and ballads.
That chapter includes a 3 1/2 page example of "Hangman"m complete with stage directions.

Example:
{To Father}
Father, have you come?
And have you come at last?
And have you brought my gold?
And will you pay my fee?
Or is it your intention to see me hang
Here all under this willow tree?

{Father to Son}
Yes, I've come, I've come.
I have not brought your gold.
I will not pay your fee.
T' my intention to see you hung
Here all under this willow tree.

-snip-

That chapter includes other variants of this song entitled "Hangman, Slack on the Line".

That chapter also includes versions of "Lady Isabel and Teh Elf Knight", "Frog Went A'Courtin", "Old Bangum", "A Little Boy Threw His Ball", "Lord Lovell", "So We Hunted and We Hollered", and other songs...