In my memory from the '60's', the fingerpicking style with the alternating bass that mirrors Elizabeth Cotten's playing was called "Cotten pickin'" by some and "Travis pickin'" by others. Of course "Freight Train" was a required tune for any budding fingerpicker. The name Cotten Picking implies that Elizbeth Cotten's style was original. From this thread, it sounds like there were many influences at work in the world in the early 1900's.

Roger in Baltimore