Cory was born in Strathroy, Canada West and moved with his farming family to Gladstone, Manitoba in 1871.

[1] Only the second Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Cory inherited a region that had barely been governed during the time of his predecessor.

[2] Within months the new Commissioner had enacted a new ordinance (or law) regarding entry into the Northwest Territories, restricting access only to those pre-approved by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at various outposts in Alberta or the Yukon.

However, during his tenure as Commissioner, Cory pursued further administration of the Territories, overseeing the appointment of councillors for the first time and establishing operations to facilitate the expansion of oil and gas interests in the region including the opening of the Territories' administration offices at Fort Smith in 1921.

Scanlan and had one daughter: Mary, who married Keith Martin and had three children: Sarah, Emily, and Sophie.