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.

[10]: 41 Foote served as district attorney and then judge of the court of common pleas of Seneca County, New York, before resigning in 1846.

[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.

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.

[19][20] From the late 1870s to early 1880s, Foote was involved with Mary's husband, John B. Henderson in a series of lawsuits against Missouri counties for failure to make good on railway bonds.

[27] In some cases the judgments were tens of thousands of dollars[28] and media reported that the judgements were worth millions.