An article by Jim Blount, Journal News, Dec. 24, 1989, said that "Old Shady," published in 1861, earned Hanby $300 plus royalties from Ditson and said it was based on a May 1861 incident in Virginia when several slaves surrendered to Union soldiers.

The article speaks of the Chicago fire of October, 1871, which destroyed the Root & Cady publishing house, and with it the records of another Hanby hit, "Up on the Housetop," first published in 1866 as "Santa Claus" in a children's song quarterly while Hanby was working for Root in Chicago.
My earlier reference to a fire at Oliver Ditson, I think, is a mistake. Why Ditson published the score without the author's name, I don't know. I have lost the website at which I found the Blount article, but one should be able to re-locate it.

The version of "Ole Shady" published by Ditson was reprinted with score in "Heart Songs," 1909, p. 122, with B. R. Hanby cited as author. The five verses given are from the 1861 sheet music, posted previously.