Toensing lists his last name as Hanson and his middle initial as M. The Fifteenth Legislature of Minnesota: Biographical Sketches, St. Paul: Press Printing Company, 1873; and the Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1873 list his last name as Hanson and his middle initial as N. The Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1874 lists his last name as both Hanson and Hansen and his middle initial as N.
The Fifteenth Legislature of Minnesota: Biographical Sketches, St. Paul: Press Printing Company, 1873 lists his birth year as 1833. Toensing lists 1828. The Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1874 lists him as being 40 years old.
He came to Minnesota in 1866.
His party affiliation when first elected was provided by The Fifteenth Legislature of Minnesota, 1873.