Hanby House Historic Site

The Hanby House was once the home of Bishop William Hanby, the 15th Bishop of the United Brethren in Christ Church and a co-founder of Otterbein University. The home was built in 1846 and the Hanbys lived there from 1853-1870. The home features artifacts related to the university as well as Hanby's opposition to slavery and efforts to promote the Underground Railroad. The home also holds a variety of original furniture and items from the Hanby family.

Born in Pennsylvania, William Hanby (1808-1880) was the oldest of five children. William Hanby lived on a Quaker farm for six years after his father died. In 1823, the fifteen-year-old apprentice ran away from a harness and saddle maker to Ohio after three years of mistreatment by his master. In 1828, Will worked as a saddler’s apprentice in Rushville, Ohio. He opened a saddlery business with Samuel Miller and in 1830 he married Ann, Samuel's daughter.

Hanby became a circuit-riding preacher for the United Brethren Church in 1831. Later he became the editor of the Religious Telescope. His fame grew as a result of the paper and in 1845 he was elected the15th Bishop of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. An abolitionist, Hanby assisted runaways seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad. In 1847, Hanby was a co-founder of Otterbein University in Westerville.

This home was built in 1846 on the corner of Grove and Main Streets. The Hanby family lived there from 1854 to 1870. In 1926, the Hanby House was sold to a Pittsburgh banker for $1,500 as a birthday present for his wife, Dacia Custer Shoemaker. After that, Mrs. Shoemaker conducted the house’s restoration with the support of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Association and she helped create the Benjamin Hanby Memorial Association. The Hanby house was moved to this location in Westerville as part of that organization's efforts to preserve the Hanby family history. The Legacy of the Hanbys by Dacia Shoemaker was published by the Westerville Historical Society.

The house was dedicated in 1937 by Brainerd Hanby, the grandson of Bishop William Hanby. Brainerd's father was, Benjamin Russel Hanby, best-known for his composition of the Christmas song Up On the Housetop. He also wrote Darling Nelly Gray (his first published song) and the hymn Who Is He in Yonder Stall?

The Hanby house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also designated as a United Methodist Heritage Landmark. In 2011, the Hanby House was recognized as a significant site on the Underground Railroad and is listed on the National Park Service Network to Freedom.

Owned by the Ohio History Connection and locally maintained by the Westerville Historical Society, the home contains some of the original furniture and artifacts belonging to the Hanby family, including a walnut desk built by Bishop William Hanby, an original composition of Darling Nelly Gray, collections of sheet music, and books.

http://hanbyhouse.org/ http://beesfirstappearance.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/the-saddler%E2%80%99s-legacy/