Two quotations from Evelyn Foster Morneweck, Chronicles of Stephen Foster's Family, 2 vols. (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1944). The author was Morrison's daughter.

"Morrison was traveling regularly on the river now. His next trip in 1843 was to New Orleans in November, and straght back again; he arrived home on the steamboat Allegheny on December 10. This winter journey resulted in a $14,400 order placed with Burke, Watt and Company, commission merchants of Carondelet Street, whose chief officer was the notable Gleny Burke. The famous steamboat, later immortalized in song by Stephen, named for Glendy Burke, was not launched, however, until 1851. Her first captain was J.M. White. Morrison's impression was that Mr. Burke's name orginally was Glen D. Burke, not Glendy; as he personally knew Glendy Burke, it would seem that he had some authority for this belief." (Vol. I, pp. 273-274; the spelling here is "Glen", not "Glenn")

"Before leaving for New York, he [i.e., Stephen] sent to Firth, Pond in 1860,'Poor Drooping Maiden,' 'None Shall Weep a Tear for Me,' 'The Wife; or He'll Come Home,' 'Under the Willow She's Sleeping,' probably 'Cora Dean,' and one good song, 'The Glendy Burk,' composed in his best old-time manner. Glendy Burke, for whom the famous steamboat was named, was a well-known merchant and influential citizen of New Orleans. Morrison had many dealings in the '40's with Mr. Burke who was associated with the firm of Burke, Watt & Co. of Carondelet Street, New Orleans. As an acknowledgment of the compliment of having the steamboat named for himself, it is said that Mr. Burke presented the boat with a grand piano. Stephen's song is a spirited, rollicking steamboat ballad that has become a river clasic. It is written in simple negro dialect, but inoffensive as it was, this dialect was considered quite too vulgar to be sung by a certain genteel young lady of the '60's whose bound volume of music I recently inspected. Her fastidious singing teacher in the young ladies' seminary at which he taught, had crossed out all the 'de's' and 'wid's' and 'dah's' and substituted the proper 'the's' and 'with's' and 'there's' which the elegance of the young pupil's social position demanded--her father was a senator." (Vol. II, pp. 520-521; there's a photo of "Original manuscript" of it, facing p. 520)

~Masato