US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to represent Wisconsin's 2nd District in the Thirty-Seventh Congress, he served from 1861 until his death in office. Hanchett was born in Middlebury, Ohio, the son of a country doctor. Orphaned at 15, he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1846 and became an attorney in Fremont, Ohio. In 1849 he moved to Plover, Portage County, Wisconsin, and quickly rose to prominence in its affairs. In addition to his law practice, he served as Portage County Attorney for two years and invested in several lumber and mining ventures. From 1856 to 1860 he was a member of the State Senate. Described as a modest man, Hanchett was a low-key presence on the floor of the US House, though in the committee rooms he was a known opponent of slavery and a supporter of citizens' individual rights. He fell ill in Washington in October 1862 and returned home, dying soon after his arrival. He was 37. There is a cenotaph in his memory at Congressional Cemetery. Hanchett's short life had a tragic postscript. During the 1850s he co-owned a sawmill and surrounding farm in Plover with Amos Courtwright, a local resident. Following his 1856 election to the State Senate, he agreed to sell his interest in the mill to Courtwright for $2000. Courtwright never paid off the debt, and Hanchett's heirs eventually sued to claim the property. On October 11, 1875, Courtwright and his brother Isiah were arrested for the fatal shooting of Sheriff Joseph Baker, who had tried to evict them. A week later a mob stormed the Plover jail and lynched the two brothers. This episode marked the only death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty and the only lynching in Portage County history. Hanchett, Baker, and the Courtwrights are all buried at Plover Cemetery.