James Foote was born on 2 March 1829 in either Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire, England or in Calne, Wiltshire, England, the son of Joseph Foote (a hat maker) and his wife Elizabeth (née Clarke) [REF].
On 21 July 1863, James Foote married Catherine Keith (née Cramb), the widow of James Keith, at Clydebank Cottage, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane [REF].