The earliest evidence I have of creationists exhibiting this understanding comes from a 1928 paper, written by the equivalent of a creationist back then.
Interesting. So we see that creationists were as confused in 1928 as they are now. There failure to understand the theory of evolution was as bad in 1928 as it is now. Their propensity to argue against a strawman existed in 1928, just as it exists today.