Sometime between 1802 and 1804 the Hannas settled along the east fork of the Great Miami River, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Brookville, Indiana.

On August 5, 1818, he won the election for Franklin County sheriff, beating John Allen, his opponent, 426 votes to 118.

[3][12] When a state militia was organized in 1817, Hanna served as a brigadier general in its Sixth Brigade, Third Division.

On April 11, 1831, it became the first steamboat to successfully navigate the White River from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Indianapolis.

However, it ran aground on the return trip, ending efforts at steamboat navigation of the river until others tried again in 1865.

[1] At the end of his political career Hanna represented Marion County in the Indiana Senate: 1840–41 (Twenty-fifty Regular Session)[2] and 1842–46.

Hanna became a leader in the state militia in the early years of Indiana's statehood and worked as a registrar in the federal land office.

His political career included an appointment to the U.S. Senate and several years as a representative of Marion County in the upper and lower houses of the state legislature.