First published by Firth, Pond & Co., Stephen C. Foster’s “Sadly to Mine Heart Appealing” was deposited for copyright on December 28, 1858. The text of the song is Eliza Sheridan Cary’s “On Hearing an Old Scottish Melody,” which had been published in Littell’s Living Age in October of 1844.

The holograph manuscript of the score is missing piano music at the beginning and end of the song. Foster must have made this score prior to writing to his brother Morrison Foster on October 22, 1858, for he wrote: 

If you have the book containing scotch melodies I wish you would send it to me, I will return it to you. I have sent to F. P. & Co. the song ‘Sadly to mine heart appealing’ (Lines suggested on hearing an old Scottish melody) and would like to select an old tune for the introductory symphony.

After consulting the book, Foster selected the melody of “Robin Adair,” which appears in the song’s piano part in the published score.

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

The verses of “Sadly to Mine Heart Appealing” were written by Eliza S. Carey. Robert P. Nevin has stated that Stephen composed the melody for this song in 1839. He dedicated it to Rachel Keller Woods, sister of Mary Keller, that sweet singer of old-time ballads whose death in 1846 affected Stephen and his family so deeply. But Stephen did not publish the song until 1858. During that year, he brought out four other compositions, “Linger in Blissful Repose,” “Lula Is Gone,” “My Loved One and My Own, or Eva,” and “Where Has Lula Gone?” These compositions are all of a sentimental order, and there are no negro melodies amongst them. Stephen was hewing to the line of “refined” composition with a vengeance, and his income suffered accordingly.

Later she writes:

Up until 1845, Stephen had not tried his hand at any minstrel songs, so far as we know. He was of such a dreamy and romantic nature that songs of a sentimental character appealed to him greatly. It is possible that it was about this time that Stephen composed an air for Eliza S. Carey’s verses, “Sadly to Mine Heart Appealing”; it was not published, however, until 1858. Maybe Stephen submitted the song to George Willig and it was not accepted, for it is not nearly so good as “Open Thy Lattice, Love.” Robert P. Nevin said that it was composed about the same time as “The Tioga Waltz.” It is likely that “Sadly to Mine Heart Appealing” was an early composition, for, with its little triplets at the beginning of each measure, it seems to be written for the flute, and Stephen at first expressed his musical ideas through the medium of the flute or clarinet.