One of my most prized possessions is an actual letter written by Sir John Franklin in 1844,to another adventurer,Parry,the year before he sailed on his last expedition.
The song gets it wrong - he wasnt a lord.It was a broadside ballad of course,whose verbosity was pared down through the traditional process, until it became the simple but sublime song we know now.
Even though no-one could accuse him of being a singer, I like John Renbourn's version of the song, that he used to do with Pentangle.you dont really need a good voice to sing this song well - you need something else.