In 1856, at what is now the national historic site the Hanby House,[4] Hanby composed the popular anti-slavery ballad "Darling Nelly Gray",[5] based on his encounter with Joseph Selby, a runaway slave from Kentucky who had died in the Hanbys' Rushville home.[6] Hanby went on to write several other notable anti-slavery songs, including "Ole Shady", "The Song of the Contraband", and "Little Tillie's Grave".[7]
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.[5] Here, he composed "Up On The Housetop" as a Christmas sing-along, originally titled "Santa Claus". In 1865, Chicago-based publisherGeorge Frederick Root published the song and brought Hanby to Chicago to pursue other ventures.[citation needed]
On March 16, 1867, Hanby died in Chicago from tuberculosis at the age of 33.[5] He is buried in Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville. Today, the Hanby House is a museum managed by the Westerville Historical Society.[citation needed]
References
^"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).