Benjamin Hanby, a renowned composer, graduated in Otterbein College’s second class of students.[1] He is known for writing the popular Christmas song, “Up On The Housetop.”[2] Walking into Hanby’s childhood home is like stepping back in time. The two upstairs bedrooms, one of which is now used as a museum room, held Hanby and his seven siblings.[3] They used a bedwarmer full of hot coals to stay warm during the colder months. Furthermore, Hanby’s grandmother, Ruth, lived with them.[4] Therefore, there were three generations of Hanbys crammed under one roof.
The Hanby family was the epitome of today’s Otterbein University values. Bishop Hanby, Ben Hanby’s father, was part of the Underground Railroad, and his experiences watching his father aid runaway slaves led to him composing “Darling Nelly Grey,” which tells of a love story between two slaves.[5] Benjamin Hanby was not the only impressive one. The Hanbys were an ambitious family. Amanda Hanby, one of Ben’s sisters, became a missionary.[6] Bishop Hanby helped found Otterbein College and headed up the Religious Telescope publication.[7]
Eventually Ben married Katherine Winter, a young lady he began courting through the encouragement of his music teacher.[8] While Ben receives most of the attention, in The Widow, Brainerd, their son, writes of his mother that “She was determined her children should be well educated…”[9] She also graduated from Otterbein, so although she was not a composer, she was ambitious and intelligent.[10] He also includes his mother’s description of Ben, of “his beautiful dark eyes” and of how he was “a fine storyteller” and “a kind helpful husband,” making it clear just how much they loved each other.[11] It is interesting hearing Brainerd’s perspective of his parents, as this tells us something about their character, a very human element we do not receive just from facts or a tour of the home. The story of Benjamin Hanby and his family is a testament not only to their story but to Otterbein University’s story and to Westerville, Ohio’s story.
[1]Dacia Custer Shoemaker, Choose You This Day: The Legacy of the Hanbys, Ed. Harold B. Hancock and Millard J. Miller (Westerville, OH: Westerville Historical Society, 1983), 41.
[2]“The Benjamin Russell Hanby Collection,” Digital Commons @ Otterbein, Bepress, n.d., https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/hanby/.
[3]Shoemaker, Choose You This Day, 29.
[4]Ibid, 24.
[5]“The Hanby Collection,” Digital Commons, n.d.
[6]Shoemaker, Choose You This Day, 36.
[7]Ibid, 18, 22.
[8]Shoemaker,Choose You This Day, 66.
[9]Brainerd Oaks Hanby, The Widow, A Leader in Women’s Education, Wife of the Song Writer, Author of Darling Nelly Gray, Experiences of Her Remarkable Life of Ninety-Seven Years(1933), Book Collection, Book 1, 2, https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/archives_hanby/1/?utm_source=digitalcommons.otterbein.edu%2Farchives_hanby%2F1&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages.
[10]Shoemaker, Choose You This Day, 67.
[11]Brainerd Hanby, The Widow(1933), 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zIfpWakl4M
(link to song)
https://www.famlii.com/up-on-the-housetop-hanby-printable-song-lyrics-150th-anniversary/benjamin-hanby-historic-marker-for-up-on-the-housetop/
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