John Scanlon (September 10, 1841 – December 6, 1895) was an American farmer from Symco, Wisconsin who spent one term as a

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms ...

from

Waupaca County, Wisconsin Waupaca County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,812. The county seat is Waupaca. The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1853. It is named after the Waupaca River, a Menominee ...

Background

Scanlon was born in

Bunninadden Bunnanadden, Bunnanaddan or Bunninadden ( ga, Bun an Fheadáin) is a small village in south County Sligo, Ireland. It is on the R296 road, 9 km from Tubbercurry and 8 km from Ballymote. The village contains the parish church (The Sa ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...

, Ireland on September 10, 1841, the son of John Scanlon Sr. and Anna May. He received a common school education, and became a farmer. He came to Wisconsin in 1855, settled in Burnett, but moved to Waupaca County in 1856. He enlisted in the

7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a component of the famous Iron Brigade in the Army of the Potomac throughout the war. Service The 7th Wisconsin was ...

on December 31, 1864, and participated in the

Battle of White Oak Road The Battle of White Oak Road, also known as The Battle of Hatcher's Run, Gravelly Run, Boydton Plank Road, White Oak Ridge was fought on March 31, 1865, during the American Civil War at the end of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign and in the begi ...

and the

Battle of Five Forks The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, near the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Union Arm ...

in 1865. He and his unit (part of the famed

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

) were involved in the pursuit and capture of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

's army, and took part in the

Grand Review of the Armies The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in th ...

at Washington on May 3, 1865. He was mustered out July 3, 1865, when the regiment returned to Madison from Kentucky and was discharged.

Public office

He had held various local offices, including

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

treasurer and chairman of the town board of supervisors; and was a delegate to the Greenback state convention in 1877. He was elected to the assembly for 1879 from the 2nd Waupaca County district (the towns of Bear Creek, Dupont,

Helvetia Helvetia () is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially ''Confoederatio Helvetica,'' the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss fl ...

Iola Iola or IOLA may refer to: * ''Iola'', the ''nom de plume'' of African-American writer Ida B. Wells * ''Iola'' (steamboat 1885), a steamboat active on Puget Sound from 1885 to 1915 * Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts, a method of raising money fo ...

, Larrabee,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Little Wolf Little Wolf (''Cheyenne'': ''Ó'kôhómôxháahketa'', sometimes transcribed ''Ohcumgache'' or ''Ohkomhakit'', more correctly translated Little Coyote, 18201904) was a Northern Só'taeo'o Chief and Sweet Medicine Chief of the Northern Cheyenne. ...

Matteson Matteson may refer to: Places * Matteson, Illinois * Matteson, Wisconsin * Matteson Township, Michigan Others * Matteson (surname) * Matteson (Metra), railway station in Illinois, United States * Matteson M-1 The Matteson M-1 was an Ameri ...

, Mukwa,

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and the first and second

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

New London New London may refer to: Places United States * New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut * New London, Indiana * New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland * New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England tow ...

), receiving 943 votes against 783 for

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

L. D. Moses (Republican incumbent

Francis Guernsey Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural M ...

was not a candidate). Scanlon was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

on town and

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

organization. He ran for re-election for 1880, and was defeated by Republican

Nels Anderson Nels Anderson (July 31, 1889 – October 8, 1986) was an early American sociologist who studied hobos, urban culture, and work culture. Biography Anderson studied at the University of Chicago under Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess, whose ...

, who drew 962 votes to 419 for

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

former State Representative Michael Gorman and 345 for Scanlon.

After the Assembly

He returned to farming in Symco, but spent some time as a messenger for the

Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the Wisconsin state government, and acts as the executive head of the Department of ...

office in Madison. He died in

Manawa, Wisconsin Manawa is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,441 at the 2020 census. Geography Manawa is located at (44.460563, -88.919253). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ...

in 1895.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlon, John 1841 births 1895 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin Irish emigrants to the United States Irish soldiers in the United States Army Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Waupaca County, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Politicians from County Sligo Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin Greenbacks 19th-century American legislators People from Burnett, Wisconsin Military personnel from County Sligo 19th-century Wisconsin politicians