Malcolm Douglas I don't know/care much about The Rose of Allendale, but regarding The Rose of Tralee your comments "The original two verses were out on broadsides at least as early as the 1860s" intrigue. That, in fact is what I suspected; the first two verses were written by the original author but the rest of the song and the legend around it, grew in later years.

So when my mid-19th century ancestors came to the US singing this song, they probably only knew the first two verses.