Oh, Charley. Sorry.

Nope, it was Helen Creighton who collected it. She asseumbled the version we know from several source singers.

It was later found to be derived from a song written by Robert Tannahill.

The person who popularized it was Catherine MacKinnon another native of Nova Scotia.

Supersearch is not working so I can't find the thread which covered this topic a couple of years ago. However... These are three web-pages covering this topic....

Helen Creighton Web-site
Soldier's Adieu - Robert Tannahill's poem
The Nova Scotia Song