From the notes to the Penguin Book (1959):

"The faithful "hero" of this song is just as often a shoemaker as blacksmith.  Both metre and tune are rather unusual, recalling the well-known  Brisk Young Widow  in Folk Songs from Somerset vol. III (Cecil Sharp & C. L. Marson, 1904-9), and  Brave Wolfe,  a song celebrating the hero of Quebec, often found in America though not reported in Britain (Brave Wolfe is not to be confused with  Bold General Wolfe,  which is fairly common in England).  The opening of the "strange news" verse also appears in some sets of Brave Wolfe.  The Blacksmith (or Shoemaker) has been reported from Sussex (FSJ vol. IV, p. 279), Essex (FSJ vol. IV, p. 280 -2 versions), Somerset (FSJ vol. VIII, p. 17) and Dorset (FSJ vol. VIII, p. 206)."  -R.V.W./A.L.L.

This version was first published in the Folk Song Journal, vol. VIII, p. 208.

Other versions on the DT:

A Blacksmith Courted Me.  This version from The Seeds of Love (ed. Stephen Sedley, 1967).
The Blacksmith (2)  No source given; possibly transcribed from Steeleye Span or Planxty recordings?

There is also another version of  Bold General Wolfe,  besides that linked to above, though it is titled Brave Wolfe.

See also  Braw News Has Come Tae Toon

In the Forum:

Tune in ABC Format  This is very similar to the Penguin Book version, but best belongs with Blacksmith (2), as recorded by Planxty in 1973, and by Steeleye Span in 1970 and 1971.
Chords  A discussion of chordal arrangements for Blacksmith (2)

There is an entry at the Traditional Ballad Index:  The Blacksmith

There are two copies of a broadside version at  Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads,  printed by H. Such, Printer and Publisher, 177, Union Street, Borough S.E. London between 1863 and 1885:  The Blacksmith  (Large image).

Malcolm