Here's the evidence about the date- again this is not proof - we know that the ballad crossed the ocean, we don't know exactly when but we do know when the families that sang the ballad came and assume that they brought the ballad.

Certain older ballads we can assume came with the early colonists. In the case of Virginia the House of Burgess was established in 1619 well before the broadside.

We know that Virginians and all Americans did not sing the broadside because stanza 4 is missing. The only version sung in America is the old English version which obviously predated c. 1670. Out of the 250 version in collection there is only one example of stanza 4 being sung and it was probably taken from the Forget-Me- Not- Songster.

The traditional English ballad that predates the broadside was sung in America- and I contend that the print version never caught on because the old English version has remained consistent.

In North America the traditional ballad too has 19 stanzas, but extra ending stanzas are common and opening stanza is sometimes missing.

Here are two early versions traced back, through family lies:

The Soper version: The Soper family (BBM; BFSSNE 7 In Memoriam) was known as a singing family. Susie Carr Young (1862-1933) documented her grandmother Mary Soper's versions by compiling nearly 68 ballads around 1900. Her Grandmother Mary Soper (b. 1791) of Orland, Hancock, Maine, married Hugh Hill Carr of Bucksport, Hancock, Maine (b.1790) in 1813. The ballad of Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor (according to Barry, BBM) came from Mary Soper, no date given. Mary died when Susie was only 7 and the ballad may have come from her mother and other family members. Mary's father was Justus Soper (b.1760 in MA and married Elizabeth Viles) and her grandparents were Samuel Soper Jr. and Katherine Ruggles (ref. Ancestry.com). Justus Soper's grand father was Samuel Soper Sr. (ref. Ancestry.com) and his great-grandfather was Joseph Soper (1656, ref. BFSSNE) who was 1st generation in American his parents believed to be from London.

The Hicks/Harmon version: The history of this ballad family has been given before (Smith: Jane Gentry) however some curious references have been made to the lineage. Here's what Mellinger Henry wrote (1938):

       "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender." Sung by "Uncle" Sam Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928. He learned it from his grandfather in Watauga County, North Carolina, who had learned it in England before emigrating to North Carolina.

Before examining Henry's statement (which clearly he got from Sam Harmon in 1928), let's look at the family line. Sam's grandfather was Council Harmon, the main purveyor of ballads, in his family line. Council Harmon (1807-1898) married Nancy Tester (1809-1850) around 1830. Sabra Hicks (1785- ) was his mother and Andrew Harmon (1789-1814) was his father. When Counce was five, his father Andrew was killed by a falling tree and his mother Sabra went to live with her father, Big Sammy Hicks. The eight-year-old Council, his younger brothers Goulder and Mathias and his sister Rachel. Big Sammy's son, Little Sammy was fourteen and he learned ballads and tales from his grandfather, Big Sammy Hicks, his uncle Little Sammy and also his aunt Fanny Hicks. When Elizabeth Harmon died, her husband Duke Ward, married Sabra. When Ward moved to Illinois with his four sons, his new wife Sabra took Rachel her youngest and left Council, Goulder, and Mathias with Andrew's sister, Susan Harmon and her Susan's husband, John Mast.

Now let's go back to Sam Harmon. The ballad was passed from his grandfather Council to Sam before the family moved to Tennessee. Council did not immigrate from England to North Carolina- Sam just didn't know much about his grandfather and his family heritage. It was most assuredly through his great grandmother's family (Sabra Hicks) that this ballad was learned-- that would be "Big Sammy" Hicks, Counce's grandfather. Sammy was named after his grandfather Samuel Hicks (b. 1695) who was from Tuckahoe Creek Virginia (along the James River) in Henrico County, in what is now Goochland County. No one knows who Samuel's father was but John Hicks, the Doorkeeper or his son are candidates. Samuel's grandfather would have immigrated to Virginia circa 1650 and Samuels' father would be born in Virginia around or by 1675. That seven generations from Council Harmon through his mother to England.

We have several Hicks/Harmon versions to study including Sam Harmon, Jane Hicks Genry (Maud Long her daughter), Nora Hicks (Mast's Gape Hicks) and Alice Hicks.

Did the ballad of "Lord Thomas" come to Virginia in the 1600s? There's a good chance the ballad came to Virginia in the mid to late 1600s-- it was a popular ballad and remained popular in the Appalachians where Cecil Sharp collected nearly 40 versions between 1916-1918.

Richie