Francis-Frances confuses many people. Canadians seem especially prone to spelling the name with an "i," Francis, regardless of sex.
The banishment, then reinstatement of Frances Kyle is interesting. I could find no information on her.

In the second verse, the 1859 version has "how I blest the august evening;" August is capitalized in the 1984 printing by Ditson. I assumed the month was meant in both. To me, that version is preferable because a girl coming home from a quilting party with her beau would be followed by a gaggle of giggling females.

The idea of a path used by cattle being moss-grown shows that the author was a city boy- any path regularly used by cattle is mostly or entirely bare. On the other hand, the image of "the pink-eyed pimpernel," a primrose, is not ghastly but pleasant (a lovely little plant from England, much grown in temperate states as well).
Too much analysis can be applied to any song.

And when did the line, "as light as ocean foam," appear? It is in the 1909 "Heart Songs" volume. The title "Quilting Party" also appears there.