Late period Kentucky minstrelsy hijacked into school songbooks... maybe... Working back from the wiki:

“"Sourwood Mountain" is most closely associated with the music of Appalachia; however, there are versions native to New England as well.[1]

[1]Faulkner, Anne Shaw (1913). What We Hear in Music: A Course of Study in Music Appreciation and History. The Victor Talking Machine Company. p. 384.” [wiki]

Note: There's nothing on Sourwood Mountain in Faulkner's 1913 first edition. 16 years later the 7th edition reviewed the Victor recordings for Charles A. Fullerton's One Book Course in Elementary Music.

“21751 {Sourwood Mountain Billy Boy} Americana
“Sourwood Mountain” “and “Billy Boy” are American mountain tunes that are found, with a great variety of verses, not only in the Appalachian Mountains, but also in the hills of New England. These particular songs belong to the classification of “Nursery Songs,” for, although there are innumerable verses, there is always a definite refrain to be noted.
        “Sourwood Mountain” is a song for children. The first verse runs:

                “Chickens a-crowing in Sourwood Mountains
                Hey diddy ump, diddy iddy um day
                Get your dogs and we all will go hunting,
                Hey diddy ump, diddy iddy um day.”

“Billy Boy” is a conversation between a mother and her son regarding the qualifications of the maiden he has chosen. This type of “Dialogue Song” is found in the folk music of every country. [Lesson XXXVI, Part I.]”
[Faulkner, What We Hear in Music, Victor Talking Machine Div., 1913, 7th ed., 1929, p.359]
Ralph Crane (Royal Dadmun) & Raymond Dixon (Lambert Murphy); Victor 21751, 78rpm, trk. A3
Recorded Sound Archives
Victor matrix BVE-47811. Away for Rio/Ralph Crane