Benjamin Hanby
Illustration — The Hanby House, c. 1905 • Illustration — The Hanby House in 2020 Benjamin Russell (or Russel) Hanby (July 22, 1833 – March 16, 1867) was an American composer, educator, pastor, and abolitionist. He is known for composing approximately 80 songs and hymns, most notably "Darling Nelly Gray" and the Christmas songs "Up on the Housetop", and "Who is He in Yonder Stall?".
Also recorded as B. R. H. · Benjamin Russell Hanby · Benjamin Russell · Ben Hanby
Benjamin Hanby
Ohio History Connection, attribution · https: via · Public domain
- Born
- 1833 · Rushville.
- Died
- 1867 · Chicago.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- composer · lyricist · abolitionist · parson
- Education
- Otterbein University
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q4888764 · wikipedia · Benjamin Hanby
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Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
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Life and legacy
Life and legacy
Hanby was born in Rushville, Ohio, on July 22, 1833. In 1849, he moved to Westerville to enroll at Otterbein University, and was later involved in the Underground Railroad. His father was Bishop William Hanby. In 1856, at the Benjamin Hanby House, Hanby composed the popular anti-slavery ballad "Darling Nelly Gray", based on his encounter with Joseph Selby, a runaway slave from Kentucky 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 in the town. Here, he composed "Up On The Housetop" as a Christmas sing-along, originally titled "Santa Claus". In 1865, Chicago-based publisher 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 at the age of 33. He is buried in Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville. Today, the Hanby House is a museum managed by the Westerville Historical Society and owned by the Ohio History Connection.
Documentary record
Benjamin Hanby (22 July 1833 – 18 March 1867) was a composer and “Pfarrer”. The birth of Benjamin Hanby is recorded on 22 July 1833, and the death on 18 March 1867.
Places
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Places
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Benjamin Hanby House
Residences
Rushville.
Birth place
Chicago.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Benjamin Hanby, revision 1360673759 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."Benjamin Russel Hanby, Ohio Composer-Educator, 1833–1867 (1987)" in C. B. Galbreath, Song Writers of Ohio, in 14 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications 180 (1905).
- 2.Family History.
- 3.Who is He in Yonder Stall?. 3 December 2022.
- 4.Benjamin Hanby at Ohio History Central
- 5.William Osborne, Music in Ohio 421 (2004); Galbreath, supra, at 183.
- 6.Family History.
- 7.Hanby, Benjamin, House (added 1970 - - #70000493). National Register of Historic Places.
- 8."Benjamin Russel Hanby", Hanby House.
- 9.Westerville Public Library. Benjamin Hanby and His Anti-Slavery Song.
- 10.Ohio History Connection. The Civil War in Sheet Music. October 2023.
References
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reference work
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 31 August 2026.
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