Benjamin Russell Hanby

1833-1867

Born: July 22, 1833, Rushville, Ohio.

Died: March 16, 1867, Chicago, Illinois.

Buried: Otterbein Cemetery, Westerville, Ohio

Son of a United Brethren minister, Hanby attended Oberlin University. Upon graduation, he worked for the college, then served as principal of an academy in Seven Mile, Ohio. He later pastored in Lewisburg and New Paris, then went on to work for music publishers John Church Company (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Root and Cady (Chicago, Illinois). He wrote over five dozen songs, many of which appeared in the quarterly Our Song Birds. Among others, he wrote "Darling Nelly Gray" and "Up On The Housetop," a favorite "Santa Claus" song of Children.

The Hanby House, where Hanby wrote his music, has been restored and is open for public viewing. If you should travel in Ohio, be sure to look it up. The Hanby House is at 160 West Main Street, between State Route 3 and Cleveland Avenue in Westerville, Ohio in Franklin County.

Sources:

The Cyberhymnal

Bill Drennon, Central Valley Christian School, Visalia, CA