Art, thanks so much for the information. I consolidated it and sent it to Skip Landt
who handles the Old Town School of Folk Music newsletter. Enough info is known about the song now so that it can be sung and understood. The tune apparently is "Bound Down In The Prison Walls", an old hymn that Judge Keller used for the lyrics.

It's this kind of thing that makes Mudcat a superlative site for folk music.
I hope we can have more of this kind of thing.

Frank Hamilton