Photo courtesy of the Westerville Historical Society
Westerville’s reverence for its community history inspired an effort to restore the gravesite of one of its best-known historical figures.
The Westerville Historical Society, in a collaborative effort with the community, gave some much-needed attention to the gravesite of Benjamin Hanby.
Jeff Yoest, a member of the Westerville Historical Society and one of the project leaders, points to the Hanby family’s impact on Westerville history as inspiration for the project.
“Benjamin Hanby is probably one of Westerville's most famous people, and we felt that that plot had potential to highlight a common person who built history,” Yoest says. “Plus, his father, who was Bishop Hanby, has an incredible story and was affiliated with a church and with Otterbein University in the 1800s. We wanted to highlight the family in the area.”
Hanby is best known as an Americana musician who composed more than 80 songs including “Darling Nelly Gray” and “Up on the Housetop.”
The Hanby family opened their home as a part of the Underground Railroad, which has a storied history in Westerville. They sheltered many fugitives from slavery. One fugitive, Joseph Selby, who died at the Hanby House, was the inspiration for “Darling Nelly Gray.”
During the lead-up to the Civil War, “Darling Nelly Gray”’ and its anti-slavery message became so popular that the piece earned comparisons to Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Hanby was the oldest son of William Hanby, an abolitionist, bishop and co-founder of Otterbein University. Hanby was a part of the second graduating class in 1858.
He died of tuberculosis in 1867 at the age of 33.
The historical society was drawn to restoring his grave for two main reasons. First, to improve the attractiveness of the gravesite by cleaning it up and updating its features. The organization wanted to create a mini-park within the cemetery for visitors to enjoy.
Second, the historical society wanted to fix tilting stones by installing a protective base around the footstones. Workers installed new concrete floors on the footstones with embedded brass plaques to display individuals’ names. Before, the stones only contained initials. Originally a small broken footstone, Hanby’s plot was upgraded to a brand new one.
Photo courtesy of the Westerville Historical Society
To complete the restoration, the historical society enlisted help from members across the community, with everyone bringing a different service to the project.
Professionals leveled leaning monuments, and the Westerville Lions Club helped lay bricks and put sand on top of the concrete foundation.
The city’s service department dug out the area in front of the big obelisk and installed a cement base. Additionally, it provided the bricks that line the walkway from the drive to the obelisk. Appropriately, the bricks were repurposed, having come from an old walkway at Hanby Elementary School.
The Westerville Parks and RecreationDepartment ordered a bench for the grave, which is now a popular spot for visitors to relax. Local mason Richard “Gator” Lakeman installed the brick perimeter around the monument.
Renovations were completed this past spring, with the planting of seasonal flowers as the final step in a process that was first introduced in 2019.
“It was a collaborative effort with a lot of people involved,” Yoest says. “The City of Westerville was wonderful. I can’t say enough nice things about what they did to help us with this. We couldn’t have done it if they weren’t on board all the way.”
Hanby's grave is located in Otterbein Cemetery, 175 S. Knox St.
Juliana Colant is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@ cityscenemediagroup.com.
