Elisha Foote

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Elisha Foote
11th United States Commissioner of Patents
In office
July 29, 1868 – March 1869
PresidentAndrew Johnson
Preceded byThomas Clarke Theaker
Succeeded bySamuel S. Fisher
Personal details
Born(1809-08-01)August 1, 1809
St. Louis, Missouri
, U.S.
Spouse
​
(m. 1841)​
Children

Elisha Foote (August 1, 1809 – October 22, 1883) was an American judge, inventor, and mathematician. He served as the eleventh United States Commissioner of Patents from 1868 to 1869 and was responsible for launching an investigation into previous mismanagement of the post. He was married to the scientist and women's rights campaigner Eunice Newton Foote.

Early life

Foote was born in

née Battle) Foote.[1][2]: 719–720 [3]: 159  He was the cousin of US Senator Solomon Foot of Vermont.[4][5] Foote was educated at the Albany Institute.[1]

Career

Foote studied law with Judge

Johnstown, New York.[1] Henry Stanton, husband of Judge Cady's daughter Elizabeth, also studied with her father.[6]: 158  During his studies, Foote worked as a teacher and surveyor. After being admitted to the bar, he settled in western New York. [1] On August 12, 1841, he married Eunice Newton of East Bloomfield, New York.[2]: 720 [3]: 159  She would become a scientist and inventor.[7]: 65–67 [8] They would have two daughters, while living in Seneca Falls, Mary, born July 21, 1842, who later became an artist, feminist and writer[9][7]: 65  and Augusta, born October 24, 1844, who later became a writer.[10]
: 41 

Foote served as district attorney and then judge of the court of common pleas of

patent law, and he made several valuable inventions.[12] The family moved to Saratoga Springs around 1860.[13] They were living there when in 1865 he was appointed to serve an apprenticeship on the Board of Examiners-in-Chief U. S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C.[12][14]

On July 25, 1868, Foote was appointed as the eleventh Commissioner of Patents, to fill the remaining term of Thomas Clarke Theaker who was forced to resign.[12][15] When Foote became commissioner, he began investigating expenditures of the department, noting that the quantities of supplies and the prices paid for them were exorbitant. He filed a complaint with the Secretary of the Interior and an investigation was launched. The findings of the commission which investigated the complaint found that the office had lost over $80,000 over the previous one year period. There was evidence of handshake agreements, though legally a contract was required, as well as incidents of over ordering and under delivery of goods.[16] He also discovered cases in which patents had been granted for money, rather on their merits.[8] It was widely believed that Foote would be retained for a second term, when his post expired in 1869. He did not campaign for retention.[17] Instead, he remained on the Board of Examiners-in-Chief for several years and then returned to private practice of patent law.[12][18] He and Eunice remained in Washington for several years, but had returned to New York by 1878.[19][20]

From the late 1870s to early 1880s, Foote was involved with Mary's husband,

United States Supreme Court disagreed with the lower court. The cases were remanded to the District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the Circuit Court, which confirmed the Supreme Court ruling and ordered the counties to pay Foote.[21][22] They won judgments in Cape Girardeau County,[22] Lincoln County,[23] Macon County,[24] Marion County,[25] and Pike County,[26] among others.[27] In some cases the judgments were tens of thousands of dollars[28] and media reported that the judgements were worth millions.[29]

Foote was the author of several books and papers on mathematics.[12] In 1870, he became one of the founding members of the National Institute of Applied Sciences.[30] He patented several mechanical inventions, including a skate, a drying machine, and a reaping and binding machine.[31]

Death and legacy

Foote died in

St. Louis, Missouri on October 22, 1883.[31] Eunice died five years later, on September 30, 1888, in Lenox, Massachusetts.[32]

Patents

References

  1. ^
    OCLC 906067060
    .
  2. ^
    OCLC 1723979
    .
  3. ^
    OCLC 1048535339
    .
  4. Newspaperarchive.com
    .
  5. Newspapers.com
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  6. ISBN 978-0-252-09282-4
    .
  7. ^
    OCLC 28126164
    . Archived from the original on July 8, 2016.
  8. ^
    Newspaperarchive.com
    .
  9. OCLC 726486267
    .
  10. OCLC 228667645
    .
  11. Newspaperarchive.com
    .
  12. ^ a b c d e "Biographical Sketches of the Commissioners of Patents: Elisha Foote (1868–1869)". uspto.gov. Washington, D.C.: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 1936. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  13. ^ US patent 28265, Foote, Eunice N., "Filling for Soles of Boots and Shoes", published May 15, 1860 
  14. Newspaperarchive.com
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  15. Newspapers.com
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  16. Newspapers.com
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  17. Newspaperarchive.com
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  18. Newspapers.com
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  19. Newspapers.com
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  20. Newspapers.com
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  21. Newspapers.com
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  22. ^
    Newspapers.com
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  23. Newspapers.com
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  24. Newspapers.com
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  25. Newspapers.com
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  26. Newspapers.com
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  27. Newspapers.com
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  28. Newspapers.com
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  29. Newspapers.com
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  30. Newspapers.com
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  31. ^
    Newspapers.com
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  32. Newspapers.com
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