A little accuracy here wouldn't go too far amiss, a commodity that seems in pretty short supply when there are points to be scored.
Carroll and MacKenzie certainly did not present their 'Elizabethan incident' information reference as fact .
Their note reads "Dating back to at least the beginning of the 18th century, though said to be much older, this is REPUTED to be based on an incident which occurred in England during the reign of Elizabeth 1."
Dixon says "it has been published in the broadside form from the commencement of the 18th century, but is no doubt much older.
We could, of course dig him up and ask him where he got his information (and broadsides), but failing that, perhaps, unless information to the contrary is available, perhaps we might assume that he had done his homework.