Benjamin Russell Hanby (July 22, 1833 – March 16, 1867), also given as Benjamin Russel Hanby, was an American composer, educator,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

who wrote approximately 80

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s. The most famous are "Darling Nelly Gray" and the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

songs "

Up on the House Top "Up on the Housetop" is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864.Bronson, Fre"Signs Of The Season" Billboard Magazine; December 6, 2007. It has been recorded by a multitude of singers, most notably Gene Autry in 1953. Fresh Beat Band ...

" and "Who Is He In Yonder Stall?". Hanby was born in Rushville, Ohio. He moved to

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

in 1849, at the age of sixteen, to enroll at Otterbein University. He was involved in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

with his father, Bishop William Hanby. Hanby composed the popular anti-slavery ballad ''Darling Nelly Gray'' in 1856 in what is now a national historical site, the Hanby House, located at the corner of Grove and Main Streets (in the 1830s, when Hanby was still a child his family moved to 160 West Main Street) in Westerville, adjacent to the campus of Otterbein University. The song was based on the Hanby family’s encounter with Joseph Selby, a runaway slave from Kentucky who died at the Hanby home in Rushville after relating the moving story of his escape to freedom and having to leave behind his lost love. Hanby wrote several other notable anti-slavery songs during this period including ''Ole Shady, The Song of the Contraband'' and ''Little Tillie's Grave''. Darling Nelly Gray Sheet Music Cover

After graduation in 1858, Hanby briefly taught school and then became a minister in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1860, he became principal of Seven Mile Academy in Seven Mile, Ohio. In 1864, Hanby was minister of a church in New Paris, Ohio, but by Christmas 1864, he was no longer working as a pastor, but operating a singing school in New Paris. He composed " Up On The Housetop" as a Christmas sing-along. It was originally titled ''Santa Claus''. The following year,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

publisher George Frederick Root published "Up On The Housetop" and brought Hanby to Chicago to pursue other publishing ventures. At age 33, Hanby died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

in Chicago on March 16, 1867. He is buried in Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville. Today the Hanby House is a museum managed by the Westerville Historical Society.

Gallery

Image:Darling_Nelly_Gray_page_2.jpg, Darling Nelly Gray, page two Image:Darling_Nelly_Gray_page_3.jpg, Darling Nelly Gray, page three

References

External links

Benjamin Hanby at britannica.comBenjamin Hanby at ohiohistorycentral.org
* * * * ttps://www.westervillehistory.org/hours-location-admission Hanby House Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanby, Benjamin American male composers Otterbein University alumni 1833 births 1867 deaths People from Fairfield County, Ohio 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Musicians from Dayton, Ohio People from Westerville, Ohio American United Brethren in Christ American abolitionists Tuberculosis deaths in Illinois Burials in Ohio Ministers of the Evangelical United Brethren Church 19th-century American composers People from New Paris, Ohio 19th-century American male musicians American school principals Christian abolitionists