Ella Philena Woodward was born in Royalton, New York, in 1857, the daughter of Charles and Philena (Bixby) Woodward. She lived in the San Diego, California, area in the late 1870s and married Henry Worthington Foote, a young attorney, there in 1879. The couple, and oldest daughter Leslie, moved to Helena, Montana, in August 1882. Younger daughters Frieda and Doris were born in Helena. Emma was of an artistic temperament, involving herself in painting, embroidery, etching, wood-carving, poetry, and singing. During the Panic of 1893, the family lost their home and moved into the Porter Flats on Ewing Street. In 1896 or 1897 the family left Montana to move to a farm near San Diego, California. Leslie married John R. Barrows in 1902.
Their daughter Doris Foote was born in Helena, Montana, on October 13, 1889, and grew up in Helena and in San Diego, California. She graduated from Mills College in Oakland, California. In 1915, she married Harold Guy Merriam. They moved to Missoula in 1919 where Merriam became a University English professor. Doris was president of the Missoula Women's club and the University Faculty Women's Club. The Merriams had a son and a daughter. Doris Merriam died March 25, 1970.
From the description of Ella Woodward Foote papers, 1895, undated. (Montana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 435841939
