Benjamin Russell Hanby

Benjamin Russell Hanby (1833–1867) was an American educator, minister, abolitionist, songwriter, and composer associated with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Born near Rushville, Ohio, on July 22, 1833, he moved with his family to Westerville, where his father, Bishop William Hanby, helped found Otterbein University and supported the Underground Railroad. Benjamin studied at Otterbein, participated in the antislavery culture surrounding his family, and graduated in 1858.

Hanby worked as a teacher and school principal, entered United Brethren ministry, and organized singing schools while continuing to write songs. His best-known antislavery song, "Darling Nelly Gray," was published in 1856 and gave musical expression to the suffering caused by slavery and family separation. He also wrote children's and Sunday-school music, including "Up on the Housetop" and "Who Is He in Yonder Stall."

In the mid-1860s Hanby moved to Chicago and worked with the music publisher George F. Root and Root & Cady. In 1866 he helped produce juvenile song collections in which "Who Is He in Yonder Stall" first appeared with both words and music by Hanby. His career was cut short by illness in 1867, but his sacred, educational, abolitionist, and seasonal songs remained in American musical life long after his death.