Peter Lawrence Scanlan was born in Mount Hope, Wisconsin, on June 12, 1862, the son of John and Honora (Greene) Scanlan. He received his education from Wisconsin State Normal, Platteville; the University of Wisconsin; Rush Medical College, where he received his M.D. degree in 1891; and Carlisle (Pa.) Army Field Medical School, where he received his diploma in 1924. He earned money for his education by farm labor and carried hod, mixed mortar, laid rock, and plastered. Scanlan taught school, first in his home district, later a year at Rockville, and in 1887 and 1888 at the high school at Avoca, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Scanlan began practicing medicine in Lancaster, Wisconsin in 1891. While there he met one of its prominent school teachers, Lydia Harrison, of Hazel Green, Wisconsin. They were married on October 30, 1895. In Lancaster Scanlan served on the pension board, and organized the Grant County Medical Society, becoming its first secretary. He formulated an aseptic poultice that was incorporated into John B. Murphy's Annual on Surgery in 1904. He practiced medicine in Lancaster for fourteen years, and in 1905 moved to Prairie du Chien where he continued to practice until 1943. In 1906 he organized the Crawford County Medical Society. In 1917 he was on the Crawford County Council of Defense and organized the Crawford County chapter of the American Red Cross. He was a physician in attendance for a time at both the Prairie du Chien Sanitarium and the Rathbun and Kluss Sanitarium.
Scanlan served in the medical corps during World War I as a captain. On discharge he became a major in the Reserve, and at the time of the second world war he was a colonel in the Auxiliary Reserves.
Dr. Scanlan was noted as a prominent citizen of Prairie du Chien. He prepared a paper on Wyalusing Park and gave the main address at the 25th anniversary of the marking of the Indian Mounds in the park. Because of this he was made an honorary member of the State Archeological Society. He was curator and one of the vice-presidents of the State Historical Society. Through his influence the 100th annual meeting in 1946 was held at Prairie du Chien.
Toward the end of his medical career Scanlan increased his interest in Wisconsin history. His love of local history brought about contributions to the field including papers dealing with the story of Irish Ridge, the history of St. Clement's church and also St. Gabriel's parish, a sketch of Cassville, and the history of Crawford County in manuscript form. In 1937 he published Prairie du Chien, French, British, American. He wrote many newspaper, medical and magazine articles, a biography of his brother Charles, and an autobiography of himself. His last publication was the compilation of the Scanlan Family Tree, published in November 1950.
The Grant County Historical Society at its meeting at Cassville honored Scanlan with a membership. Because of his contribution to the field of literature he was made an honorary member of the Mark Twain International Society and also the Eugene Field Society. He was an honorary member of the Beaumont Foundation, and held. membership in the American Legion and the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He was cited by Kiwanis as an outstanding citizen in 1940. Politically he was a Democrat. Scanlan died in 1956.
Scanlan's daughter Marian, his only child, was born January 21, 1898, at Lancaster, Wisconsin. She graduated from eighth grade parochial school, Prairie du Chien High School, La Crosse Normal, and the University of Wisconsin, attended Chicago University, and received her A. M. degree from Marquette University. She taught English at the high schools of Florence, Janesville, Ashland, Blue River, and at Washington High School in Milwaukee. Besides magazine articles, Miss Scanlan wrote This Is My Town intended for Prairie du Chien pupils of the sixth grade. Her knowledge of French was a great help to her father in his writing of Prairie du Chien's history. She also did much of her father's typing and editing. She died on July 3, 1943.
