Benjamin Hanby
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Benjamin Russell (or Russel)[1] 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?".[2][3]
Life and legacy
[edit | edit source]Hanby was born in Rushville, Ohio, on July 22, 1833.[4] In 1849, he moved to Westerville to enroll at Otterbein University,[5] and was later involved in the Underground Railroad.[citation needed] his father was Bishop William Hanby.[6]
In 1856, at what is now the national historic site the Hanby House,[7] Hanby composed the popular anti-slavery ballad "Darling Nelly Gray",[8] based on his encounter with Joseph Selby, a runaway slave from Kentucky who had died in the Hanbys' Rushville home.[9] Hanby went on to write several other notable anti-slavery songs, including "Ole Shady", "The Song of the Contraband", and "Little Tillie's Grave".[10]
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]
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.[8] 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.[8]
On March 16, 1867, Hanby died in Chicago from tuberculosis at the age of 33.[8] He is buried in Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville. Today, the Hanby House is a museum managed by the Westerville Historical Society[citation needed] and owned by the Ohio History Connection.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ "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).
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- ^ Benjamin Hanby at Ohio History Central
- ^ William Osborne, Music in Ohio 421 (2004); Galbreath, supra, at 183.
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Benjamin Hanby at britannica.com
- Benjamin Hanby at ohiohistorycentral.org
- Hanby House information from the General Commission on Archives and History
- Free scores by Benjamin Hanby at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Benjamin Hanby at Find a GraveLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, p. 180, at Google Books
- Hanby House Museum
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- 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
- American school principals
- 19th-century American male composers