Benjamin Hanby
{{Short description|American composer (1833–1867)}}
{{infobox person|image=Benjamin Hanby bw.jpg}}
Benjamin Russell (or Russel)"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). 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 "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas".{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
Life and legacy
Hanby was born in Rushville, Ohio, on July 22, 1833.[http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Hanby,_Benjamin?rec=202 Benjamin Hanby at Ohio History Central] In 1849, he moved to Westerville to enroll at Otterbein University,William Osborne, Music in Ohio 421 (2004); Galbreath, supra, at 183. and was later involved in the Underground Railroad with his father Bishop William Hanby.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
In 1856, at what is now the national historic site the Hanby House,{{cite web|url=https://nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/OH/franklin/state3.html|title=Hanby, Benjamin, House (added 1970 - - #70000493) |website=National Register of Historic Places}} Hanby composed the popular anti-slavery ballad "Darling Nelly Gray",{{Cite web |url=http://hanbyhouse.org/biographies.html#ben |title="Benjamin Russel Hanby", Hanby House |access-date=2015-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412032255/http://www.hanbyhouse.org/biographies.html#ben |archive-date=2015-04-12 |url-status=dead }} based on his encounter with Joseph Selby, a runaway slave from Kentucky who had died in the Hanbys' Rushville home.{{Cite web|url=https://www.westervillelibrary.org/underground-hanby|title=Benjamin Hanby and His Anti-Slavery Song|publisher=Westerville Public Library|accessdate=February 10, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128185941/https://www.westervillelibrary.org/underground-hanby|url-status=dead}} Hanby went on to write several other notable anti-slavery songs, including "Ole Shady", "The Song of the Contraband", and "Little Tillie's Grave".{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/collections/history/history-blog/2011/july-2011/the-civil-war-in-sheet-music|title=The Civil War in Sheet Music|publisher=Ohio History Connection|accessdate=February 10, 2022}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
References
External links
- [http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9325678 Benjamin Hanby at britannica.com]
- [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=202 Benjamin Hanby at ohiohistorycentral.org]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051215000934/http://www.gcah.org/Heritage_Landmarks/Hanby.htm Hanby House information from the General Commission on Archives and History]
- {{IMSLP|id=Hanby, Benjamin Russel}}
- {{Find a Grave|6088452}}
- {{Google books|5W4UAAAAYAAJ|Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly|page=180}}
- [https://www.westervillehistory.org/hours-location-admission Hanby House Museum ]
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Category:American male composers
Category:Otterbein University alumni
Category:People from Fairfield County, Ohio
Category:19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Category:Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
Category:People from Westerville, Ohio
Category:American United Brethren in Christ
Category:American abolitionists
Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Illinois
Category:Ministers of the Evangelical United Brethren Church
Category:19th-century American composers
Category:People from New Paris, Ohio