“Ellen Bayne” was never entered for copyright deposit. The earliest known copy was published by Firth, Pond & Co. on February 3, 1854.

A guitar arrangement of the song was submitted for copyright on November 13, 1854, by Firth, Pond, & Co.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

At this time, Stephen had an agreement with E. P. Christy to allow Christy the privilege of singing Stephen’s songs prior to publication. For the privilege of first singing “Oh! Boys, Carry Me ’Long,” “Massa’s in de Cold Ground,” “Old Dog Tray,” and “Ellen Bayne,” Christy paid Stephen ten dollars for each song; this also included the right to have printed on the cover page “As sung by E. P. Christy,” or “Christy’s Minstrels.”