“The Village Maiden” was submitted for copyright deposit on September 17, 1855, by Firth, Pond & Co.

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

In the six months immediately following his father’s death, Stephen published only two songs, “The Village Maiden” and “Comrades, Fill No Glass for Me.” The words of “The Village Maiden” are plaintive and sad, of old-time ballad style; the melody is much better suited for religious purposes than some of the hymn tunes that he turned out later in life.