Introduction
Elisha Foote (August 1, 1809 – October 22, 1883) was an American judge, inventor, and mathematician. He was married to the scientist and women's rights campaigner Eunice Newton.
Early life
Foote was born in Lee, Massachusetts on August 1, 1809. He was the son of Elisha Foote (died April 8, 1846) and Delia (née Battle) Foote.Foote was educated at the Albany Institute.
Career
He studied law with Judge Daniel Cady in Johnstown, New York. After being admitted to the bar, he settled in western New York, and was district attorney and then judge of the court of common pleas of Seneca County, New York. His specialty was patent law, and he made several valuable inventions. In 1864 he was appointed to the board of appeals at the U. S. Patent Office. On July 28, 1868, he was appointed the eleventh Commissioner of Patents. Foote was the author of several books and papers on mathematics.
Personal life
On August 12, 1841, he married Eunice Newton (born July 17, 1819). Elisha and Eunice were the parents of:
- Mary Foote Henderson, an artist and writer born July 21, 1842,
- Augusta Foote Arnold, born October 1844, a writer who wrote The Sea at Ebb Tide. They had six grandchildren.
He died in St. Louis, Missouri on October 22, 1883. Eunice died five years later, on September 30, 1888.