There is more than one theory as to the origin of this nursery rhyme. It supposedly dates back to the 1500s and is said to be one of the first poems written on American soil.

"The most popular story about how "Rock-a-bye Baby" came about is the American version about a pilgrim who came upon a Native American and saw the way she had suspended her baby from a tree in a birch bark cradle. The idea was for the wind to sway the suspended cradle and rock the baby to sleep. However, as with any tree branch, there is always the chance a branch may break causing the cradle to fall.

In English history "Rock-a-bye Baby" refers to a family called the Kenyon's. The Kenyon's had a tree house within a huge yew tree. The Kenyon family had eight children and had hollowed out one of the boughs of the tree to be a cradle for the children. This Yew tree at the time was thought to be at least 2000 years old. Today it still stands but has been damaged by vandalism by fire during the 1930's."

There's a couple other less popular versions of the story, one involving Effie Crockett (related to Davie Crockett) and another referring to the baby in the poem as King James II of England.

Personally I think either of the two popular origins can be true since both stories are pretty similar in context.
Source(s):
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/882277/the_origin_of_the_lullaby_r...

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