Not authoritative by any means, but I can't help but notice the similarities between the thematic ideas of the song, as well as the scansion of the lines, to Old Dan Tucker. (Though the Owensboro [Ky.] Inquirer of February 14th, 1909 [link]lists the tunes separately so perhaps that line of thought is moot)

I wondered also if you'd caught the reference to the song in Lomax's report of The Banks of the Arkansaw link.