Benjamin Russell (or Russel) Hanby (July 22, 1833 – March 16, 1867) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

. He is known for composing approximately 80 songs and

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

, most notably " Darling Nelly Gray" and the

Christmas songs Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of J ...

" Up on the Housetop", and " Jolly Old Saint Nicholas".

Life and legacy

Hanby was born in Rushville,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, on July 22, 1833. In 1849, he moved to Westerville to enroll at Otterbein University, and was later involved in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

with his father Bishop William Hanby. In 1856, at what is now the national historic site the Hanby House, Hanby composed the popular anti-slavery ballad "Darling Nelly Gray", based on his encounter with Joseph Selby, a runaway slave from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

who had died in the Hanbys' Rushville home. Hanby went on to write several other notable anti-slavery songs, including "Ole Shady", "The Song of the Contraband", and "Little Tillie's Grave". After graduating in 1858, Hanby briefly taught school before becoming a minister in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1860, he became the principal of Seven Mile Academy in Seven Mile, Ohio. By Christmas of 1864, after some time as a minister in a church in New Paris, Ohio, Hanby was operating a

singing school A singing school is a school in which students are taught to sightread vocal music. Singing schools are a long-standing cultural institution in the Southern United States. While some singing schools are offered for credit, most are informal progr ...

in the town. Here, he composed "Up On The Housetop" as a Christmas

sing-along Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing, sometimes with a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spirit ...

, originally titled "Santa Claus". In 1865,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

George Frederick Root published the song and brought Hanby to Chicago to pursue other ventures. On March 16, 1867, Hanby died in Chicago from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

at the age of 33. He is buried in Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville. Today, the Hanby House is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

managed by the Westerville Historical Society.

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 Ministers of the Evangelical United Brethren Church 19th-century American composers People from New Paris, Ohio 19th-century American male musicians American school principals