Fedela, thanks for the link. Consulting Meade et alia 'Country Music Sources: A Biblio-Discography of Commercially Recorded Traditional Music', a book that was not available when I was looking for info on 'Over The Mountain', the authors consistently use the spelling 'Scanlon'. Meade and Wolfe were/are meticulous researchers so I would think the 'Scanlan' spelling is wrong. My search of the Net was almost 3 years ago and the online references you give may not have existed then - I searched 'Scanlon', but I hope would have tried the alternative 'Scanlan'.

Meade gives 'William Scanlon w&m 1882. There were no recordings before Uncle Dave's who recorded it twice: 31 June 1929 in Chicago [Br 349]; and 22 January 1935 in New Orleans [Bb B5926]. Meade gives the following printed sources:

William Scanlon's Peek-a-Boo Songster 1882 p5
The Jerome's [Charles & Ella] Burlesque Songster 1883 p44
Harper Brothers' Only A Shamrock Songster 1883 p42
Henry Melville's Dublin's Gem Songster 1883 p35
Mr George Fairfield & Miss Sadie Irwin's California's Emerald Jewels Songster 1883-84 p34
Delaney's Songbook #1 NYC 1892 p3
Good Old-Time Songs #3 [NYC Wehman Brothers 1910-16] 1914 p76

It is interesting to note the Fiddlin' John Carson used several stanzas of 'Over The Mountain' with minimal changes for his 'The Grave of Little Mary Fagan'.

Sure, I'm always lighthearted
Not a keer in this world have I
I know I'm loved by a daisy
That I couldn't forget if I tried

She sleeps far away in the mountains
Where the little birds sing in the trees
Little grave it's covered with ivy
Our love ones are waiting for thee

The rest of the song is more original, except:

The day she left her dear mother
That day I shall never forget
The morning she walked to the car line
I fancy I still see her yet

[Gene Wiggins 'Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy' pp 39-40 for a detailed discussion of this]

Note that Carson substituted 'daisy' for 'colleen' or 'Ollie'. Wiggins references D.K. Wilgus and Nathan Hurvitz 'Little Mary Phagan: Notes on a Native American Ballad in Context' Journal of Country Music #4 1973 and D.K. Wilgus 'The Text Is The Thing' Journal of American Folklore #86 July-Sept 1973 with the comment that 'in some renditions a proper name is given'. Although related to the Mary Phagan murder ballads, the Wilgus essays may have some reference to Scanlon.

--Stewie.