Helen Hartness Flanders (May 19, 1890 – May 23, 1972), a native of the U.S. state of Vermont, was an internationally recognized ballad collector and an authority on the folk music found in New England and the British Isles.

At the initiative of the Vermont Commission on Country Life, Flanders commenced a three-decade career capturing traditional songs that were sung in New England—songs that, in many cases, traced their origin to the British Isles.

The timing of her life work was critical, coming as it did when people were turning away from traditional music in favor of listening to the radio.

Her father was James Hartness, inventor, industrialist, and one-term Governor of Vermont, who headed the Jones and Lamson Machine Tool Company in that town.

She and her husband maintained homes in Springfield and Washington, D.C. where they entertained friends who included Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Robert Frost.

[5] In addition to her writings on traditional ballads, Flanders published two small volumes of poetry[6][7] and one children's play.

The availability of portable recording devices was key to Flanders's ability to collect music from singers in remote parts of New England.

Flanders made field recordings with George Brown in 1930, then with the occasional help of Phillips Barry between 1931 and 1937, and with Alan Lomax in 1939.

Flanders demonstrated that when songs migrated from the British Isles or Europe, the texts would sometimes undergo changes as singers inserted details from their life in the new world.

[9] In recognition of her accomplishments as a ballad collector, Middlebury College awarded Flanders an honorary Master of Arts in 1942.