Introduction

Biography

Milton was the son of John Wilkes Han­chett and Mar­ga­ret­ta Gran­ger, and hus­band of Mar­tha An­na Hunt­ing­ton. His fa­mi­ly came to the On­on­da­ga Val­ley around 1824, and he lat­er set­tled in Syra­c­use.

Hanchett worked with his fa­ther and bro­ther John in the drug bu­s­iness and af­ter­ward prac­ticed den­tist­ry. He pat­ent­ed an im­proved den­tal chair and a tone sus­tain­ing pe­dal for pi­anos.

He was a mem­ber of the Sy­ra­cuse Mu­sic­al Un­ion and or­gan­ist at the First Ward Pres­by­te­ri­an, St. Paul’s, Ply­mouth and Fourth Pres­by­te­ri­an church­es, al­so act­ing as choir­mas­ter and some­times ten­or so­lo­ist.

He was a di­rect­or of the Frank­lin In­sti­tute, twice pre­si­dent of the Young Men’s Chris­tian As­so­cia­tion, and vice pre­si­dent of the New York State Bank­ing Com­pa­ny.