Jinks, bet I know you. Do you play a courtin' dulcimer? On the matter of William York, according to Dr. William K. McNeil, whom I've referred to as Dr. Bill on occasion, the name was frequently used by publishers for a tune thought to be in public domain. On the other matter of authorship of "When the Wagon Was New", Dr. Bill was told by Sam McGhee that he had written the song around 1920. The song was copyrighted in 1971, which was the same year I saw Sam McGhee at the World Exposition in Montreal. At his performance there, he claimed authorship.