The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #162550 Message #3872052
Posted By: Richie
16-Aug-17 - 08:02 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Madam, I Have Come To Court You
Subject: RE: Origins: Madam, I Have Come To Court You
Hi Steve,
Patsy (Bland) Banister was born in Virginia in 1739 and died about the time her cousin John Randolph learned the stanza of "Madam." Her husband John Banister, was Delegate to Continental Congress and it was her servant, called Patience, that knew the ballad. I doubt the date when Patience learned the ballad that Randolph heard about 1780 will ever be known. Randolph, however, thought that it would have been known by the older servants indicating that at least he thought it to be older and local.
Since he was there and he heard the ballad sung, I defer to his assessment that Elizabeth Coalter might find the ballad sung by Old Aggy, his mother's handmaiden in 1769. Randolph thought the ballad to be older and passed down by the servants.
Richie