Just wondering........

I have a question, the answer to which would probably just be speculation, but that's fine.  If Uncle Ed Thomas was born in 1850, and started making and selling dulcimers when he was 21, that'd be 1871.  What I was wondering  is, if the people he sold them to lived in some pretty remote areas, what was the musical style they played, assuming they stuck with the instrument.  Uncle Ed may have showed them how to tune it, and played a bit for them, but other than that, other than a few hymns they might have known, there was no youtube, no tablature, no radio, no festivals, etc.  They may not have even known any old traditional tunes to draw from.  It seems to me they must have just come up with some tunes they figured out just noodling around.  It also seems like they might've played in a slower style as well......kind of the opposite end of the spectrum from galax style strumming, maybe just using their fingers to fret and strum.  I'm realing curious what their playing would've sounded like drifting down the holler from their cabin porch on a summer evening?  Any thoughts?⁹