The evening was elegant, fun and full of energy as our Stars and professional dancers shined once more.

The couples have practiced since last November and boy did it show. Each dance was more amazing then the one before.

Our winners of the evening’s event were Julie “Taboulie” Sageer and her professional partner, Tristan Reimann, but they had stiff competition from the others.

Second place winners were Farah Jadran and her professional part-ner, Bill Bliss and our third winners were Dave Moynihan and his professional partner, Donna Natale O’Neil.

The other competitors were close behind with their moves and music.

Bob Crowe and Erain Wilcox did a Cha-Cha that left everyone clap-ping and Joe Nicoletti and Linda Faccipointe’s Waltz was as elegant and smooth as glass. Lisa Chelenza and Geno Aureli did a Tango that made you feel you were right in the heart of a Spanish nightclub. Patti Muller and Ron Hanley knocked their swing dance right out of the ballpark. Mary Meyer and her partner, Stephfond Brunson were a hit as she entered the dance floor in her full length white fur coat to then transcend into a glittering gold costume.

What a night.

Two of our raffle winners were friends of the Foundation, Peggy Page, winning the $250 gift card from Skaneateles Jewelers and Vickie Crescenzi won the Year of fine dining. Our Grand Prize win-ner, winning the trip to The Horned Dorset, in Rincon, Puerto Rico was Mona Sageer.

Congratulations one and all.

Fifth Annual Dancing With Our Stars

Our Grand Prize winners of our Fifth Annual Dancing With Our Stars, Julie “Taboulie” Sageer and Tristan Reimann.

All of our Stars and Pros at intermission during the event.Left to right are: Mary Meyer & Stephfond Brunson, Farah Jadran & Bill Bliss, Erain Wilcox and Bob Crowe, Patti Muller & Ron Hanley, Donna Natale O’Neil & dave Moynihan, Lisa Chelenza & Geno Aureli, Julie Taboulie & Tristan Reimann and Linda Facciponte & Joe Nicoletti.

The Mansion MattersThe Barnes-Hiscock Mansion - Irreplaceable History since 1853

News Letter Spring edition 2012

The George and Rebecca Barnes Foundation, Inc. 930 James Street | Syracuse, NY 13203 | www.GRBarnes.org

Seventh Annual Save the Mansion Tour Friday June 8 and Saturday June 9, 2012

On Friday evening (6:30 - 8:30 P.M.) there will be a lecture by Architect Christopher Payne and wine and a hors d’oeuvres reception following. Mr. Payne will speak about the Architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee, specifically regarding his work on the Mansion’s diningroom and his impact in Syracuse.

The tour of homes in the Sedgwick Farms area and a tour of The Mansion will take place on Saturday from 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. A light lunch will be served from 11:30 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. The cost of the lunch will be $15 per person. (Reservations are a must)

Reception: $20 pp - GR Barnes members/$25 - non-members.Saturday’s Tour: $15 members/$20 non-members. Patron tickets are available and includes evening reception, tour and lunch. Purchase tickets online at www.GRBarnes.org or call Arlene Stewart at 682-0556. Tickets for tour may be purchased at the door.

Fourth Annual Garden TourFriday July 13, 2012

We will be touring gardens on Friday Evening as a progressive affair. Munchies and spritzers at each garden and then food & wine back at the mansion.

This progressive evening will be fun and entertaining. Look for more details on the website: www.GRBarnes.org.

Tickets: $40 per person or $75 per couple.

Trapper’s Fundraiser Wednesday July 18, 2012

Members Picnic Sunday August 26, 2012

Tour de Champagne II Saturday September 22, 2012

Please check out www.GRBarnes.org for details on all our events.

Upcoming Events The George & Rebecca BarnesFoundation Inc.

Pillar Society Members

Karen Howe - PresidentMichele Jones Galvin - Vice PresidentCheryl Ward - SecretaryRobert Brown - Treasurer

Board of DirectorsEdwin Clarke, Rocci DeCaro, Michael Discenza, Dr. David Heisig,Charles Roeschlaub, Marge Teillon, Shannon Galster

Corinthian: ($1000+)Marilyn & Richard AlberdingDavid Heisig & Donna MaharFrederick & Karen HoweRobert & Christine PierceDoric ($500 - $749)Aminy AudiDr. William & Katherine BillinghamTuscan ($250 - $499)Cynthia ArigoDonna FlookMurray & Ellen GouldNancy & Guenther SchmidtMargaret & Lawrence SnowmanArlene & Bill Stewart

The Mansion Matters is published byThe George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation, Inc.930 James Street - Syracuse, NY 13203Tel. 422-2445

www.GRBarnes.org

Seventh Annual Membership MeetingThe Seventh Annual Membership Meeting was held on Thursday, May 3, 2012 from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Barnes Hiscock Mansion.

Karen Howe presented the accomplishments of the previous year and shared insights into the future plans of the organization.

Many thanks to Kay Billingham, rotating off the board after six years. Welcome to Robert Brown, new board member and officer. Bob will be the new Treasurer.

The foundation is making progress toward its goals of restoration and sustainability.

Party at the Mansion – Perk for Pillar Members

In order to remain in compliance with our charter, but still raise additional funds, the Foundation has changed its policy on renting the mansion for private parties. Pillar members at specific levels will now have the privilege of a one-time use of the house for a private party (Other fees may apply). We have amended our facili-

ties contract to show member responsibilities. So if someone asks you if the mansion is available for a shower or wedding, tell them to join and they can hold their event. Membership dues are tax deductible. More information can be had by calling 422-2445 or sending an e-mail to info@grbarnes.org.

Forgive us if we are a little behind schedule in publishing our newsletter. We’ve partnered with a new editor/designer who is bringing a professional look to our formerly in-house pub-lished newsletter (many thanks to Arlene Stewart). Please welcome Sandra Jackson of SbN Studios/Visual Design. Sandra brings a wealth of expe-rience and talent to the Barnes

Foundation. She has graciously agreed to do this work for free. Sandra took photos at the Tour de Champagne last September, made a video of the “Meet the Author’s Tea presentations, and now is designing our newsletter. I hope you like our new look and I hope you will tell others about Sandra’s talents. You can find her information in the newsletter block and in our sponsor section. It’s important to patronize our generous sponsors.

It’s been a very busy few months. The board has been very active working on several projects. The biggest project has been setting up offices on the third floor to house the Foundation’s files, col-lections and supplies. We now have two fully furnished offices, complete with computers, printers, software and phones. The Foundation received a generous anonymous donation to provide the technology needed to carry out our business. Thanks to our generous benefactor and very careful buying (Black Friday was a big help), we were able to purchase everything we needed. The foundation can now do its bookkeeping on premises. We antici-pate an annual savings on bookkeeping expenses.

The infamous wireless doorbell is working…again. It’s supposed to be suitable for outdoor use, but the contacts corrode over a short period of time. About every three months we have to take it down, clean it, put new batteries in and re-mount it. It works great when it’s working. (Look for the bright pink arrows pointing to it)

Our grant committee has been hard at work to secure funds to start work on the serious needs of the building. At the end of March, we completed and submitted an application to The John Ben Snow Foundation for monies to help refurbish and restore several origi-nal doors in the mansion and to replace the back kitchen door with a more secure steel door. The main purpose of the grant is to complete Phase I of our ADA compliance by replacing the main entrance door with a wooden door more in keeping with the historic architecture of the building, but meeting the requirements of ADA. This project will improve the energy efficiency of all the doors. It will also increase safety because we will be adding security con-tacts to all exterior doors. We hope to begin this work in July.

As everyone knows the roof of the mansion is in a poor state. The Grant Committee has spent many hours talking to architects, contractors and consultants to formulate the best plan moving forward. It is absolutely critical to have a complete set of archi-tectural drawings done before any work is started on the building. These drawings will be the blueprints for all the work to be done even though the roof will be the first project. We can’t get reliable

quotes for work until the contractors have bid documents which are taken from the drawings. The George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation has applied for a grant from the CNY Community Foundation to help cover the cost of these drawings. Once we have these drawings, we can solicit bids. And, if we have our tim-ing right, we should be in good condition to put in an application this summer for the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation EPF grant. That would provide the major monies to fix the roof next year. So, we have a plan. It is taking time to execute it. But stay with us as we continue to inch forward.

By the time you read this, “Dancing with the Stars” will have happened: April 14. I hope you were there and enjoyed our Fifth Annual “Dancing”. The Barnes Foundation extends its appreciation and thanks to Arlene Stewart, who again has chaired this fundraiser for the foundation. This event has raised approximately $100,000 in the past four years. Check out the article in the newsletter.

Again, I extend the sincere appreciation of the Foundation to the Syracuse Corinthian Club members for their help in decorating the mansion for every holiday and occasion. The house would look so cold and empty without these lovely touches. And, a great number of the Club members have volunteered to help with our fundrais-ers. The Holidays at the Mansion took hundreds of volunteers to make that a success and we couldn’t do it without the support of the Club members along with our own dedicated volunteers.

The annual George and Rebecca Barnes Foundation Membership meeting was May 3rd. Interested members attended and socialized before and after the meeting.

For those of you who are internet savvy, stay tuned. We are work-ing on a new website. It should be out in May.

Well, you can see we are busy. We could use more help. If you, or someone you know, is/are interested in helping out on some of our committees, don’t be shy. We are also looking for a few qualified people to fill in board positions. There are openings for an accountant, a marketing person, a volunteer coordinator and a corresponding secretary, as well as, those with general business skills and a passion for historic preservation. You can contact me at: info@grbarnes.org for more information. See you at the mansion,Karen Howe

The Mansion Matters Spring edition 2012

www.GRBarnes.org

Letter from the President

New FlagLast year, due to a generous donation from Chuck and Marcy Grundner, the flag pole on the front lawn was re-paired and a new flag was put up. The weather has been tough on the flag and it is now showing signs of shredding.

Thanks to NYS Senator John DeFrancisco, we are receiv-ing a “new”, 4’ X 6’ flag that actually flew over the capital building.

On June 7, 1867, General George W. Cole walked into the Stanwix Hotel in Albany, NY; put a gun to the head of Luther Harris Hiscock; and shot him dead. The facts of the case are straightforward. Cole had recently learned that Hiscock had an affair with his wife while Cole was

off fighting in the Civil War. He then sought revenge to protect his and his wife’s honor. However, the story behind the case is more complicated and is part of a recent dissertation by Michael DeGruccio titled Unmade: American Manhood in the Civil War Era, completed at Notre Dame University in 2007. This column summarizes information contained in his dissertation. No other sources were consulted.

On the surface, Cole and Hiscock were quite similar. They were both born on farms in Central New York. Both wanted to break away from the farm and saw education as the path. Hiscock became a successful lawyer. He was also a rising star in politics, becoming an Assemblyman representing the 3rd district of Onon-daga County. He was elected as a representative to the New York Constitutional Convention, which is why he was in Albany when he was killed. Cole became a physician, earning his degree from the Medical College in Geneva, NY. They both had brothers who became Senators in Washington. Frank Hiscock represented New York and Cornelius Cole represented California. Indeed, George Cole and Luther Hiscock were close friends. However, the simi-larities ended there. Hiscock became a successful, self-made man. Cole, as we shall see, did not.

Cole did not maintain a practice as a physician for reasons unknown. Rather, he tried his hand at several businesses, none suc-cessfully. He was trading in lumber when the Civil War started and saw the war as a path to his future success. He felt that battle vic-tories and a high officer rank would translate into respect, success, and wealth upon his return. Therefore, he enlisted with the primary ambition of obtaining the rank of General. Cole started as a Captain in the 12th NY Infantry. He then trans-ferred to the 3rd NY Calvary where he thought he would see more action and, thus, more attention. While he did see more fighting, it was in relatively small, unimportant battles that garnered little press. Obsessed with promotion, Cole sought a commission as a Colonel in a regiment of black soldiers, even soliciting help from his brother, Cornelius. He remained in this position for the remain-der of the war. At that time, rather than returning home, he led his regiment to Texas to help build railroads. Towards the end of this nine-month period, Cole achieved his goal and was promoted to General, although it is unclear whether it was as a Brigadier or Major General. Cole returned to Syracuse, hoping his rank and decorations would ensure success as it had for many. However, three issues worked against him.

First, Cole received little notoriety or fame from the newspapers for his war efforts. Second, by the time of his delayed homecoming, at-titudes toward returning soldiers had begun to shift from respect and admiration to disdain because of the prevalence of behaviors such as drunkenness, rioting, and homelessness. Third, although Cole had sustained some severe internal injuries during the war, he strived to keep them out of his official record because he did not want the injuries to interfere with his chances for promotion. Perhaps more importantly, his injuries were not visible. Therefore, at a time when returning soldiers wore their visible injuries (e.g., amputations) as badges of honor, Cole suffered the pain without any gain.

Initially, Cole tried to find a pharmacy to run. However, none were available. He eventually obtained a job as Assistant Superinten-dent of the Empire Windmill Manufactory Co. He sold a number of windmills to individuals in the South. However, the customers failed to pay. Accordingly, he was fired and $2,000 of his pay was withheld. It is interesting to note that Luther Hiscock was on the board of directors of this windmill company. Cole then applied for a position as Assessor of Internal Revenue but was rejected. He eventually obtained a position as a customs special agent in New York City. This required more separation from his wife.

One day while walking on the streets of Syracuse, Cole ran into his “good friend” Luther Hiscock. Apparently, Hiscock’s behav-ior raised suspicions in Cole’s mind. Cole already suspected that Hiscock had helped his wife, Mary, use the new property laws to protect her reasonably-sized estate from her husband’s grasp. While it is assumed that her money came from an inheritance, there is some thought that Cole himself sent Mary a large sum of money that he had obtained during the war in a questionable manner. Following his new suspicions, Cole learned from his younger cous-in, Mary Cuyler, of a possible affair between Hiscock and Mary Cole. The affair was subsequently confirmed by Montgomery Pel-ton, Mary Cole’s half-sister’s husband. Thoroughly enraged and seeking revenge, George Cole went to Albany and killed Hiscock.

Cole underwent two trials over the next 18 months. The first end-ed in a hung jury because one juror insisted that Cole was guilty. In 1868, the second jury acquitted Cole, presumably because they thought that protecting one’s honor was more important than the niceties of law. Upon his release from custody, Cole did not return to his wife and two daughters. Instead, he went to Washington, D.C. in a fruitless attempt to find work, despite help from his brother Cornelius. He then moved to New Mexico where he tried and failed to make a living in the wool trade. His other big dream was to build a railroad from New Mexico to Nevada. He approached Cornelius, who had paid for Cole’s defense, promis-ing to repay all his debts with profits from the railroad. Cornelius turned him down. General George W. Cole died an “un-made” man in December of 1875.

In 1879, with all her money gone and her two daughters still living with her, Mary Cole applied for a widow’s pension, also seeking assistance from Cornelius. However, since widow pensions were tied to war injuries, and Cole had successfully kept the extent of his injuries out of his official record, her request was denied.

Murder in Albany:The death of Judge Frank H. Hiscock’s father

The Mansion Matters Spring edition 2012

www.GRBarnes.org

Relatively Speaking

Bob

Pier

ce

Because Luther Hiscock’s wife (Lucy Bridgeman Hiscock, whose portrait is hanging in the mansion) had died in 1861, Luther’s murder orphaned their two children. They were raised by Luther’s brother, Senator Frank Hiscock. Luther’s son, Frank H. Hiscock, married “Bessie” Barnes and became a prominent New York judge.

One final twist: just before Cole’s discharge from the service in 1865, Hiscock wrote to his congressman requesting that Cole be promoted to Major General. Thus, it is conceivable that Mary Cole had an additional ulterior motive behind her relationship with Hiscock that was to Cole’s benefit.

So, why did Cole kill Hiscock? Was it strictly because of the adul-terous affair? Was it Cole’s desperate attempt to finally become a man in the eyes of the public? Or, was it because Hiscock repre-sented everything that Cole tried, but failed, to become?

www.GRBarnes.org

Relatively Speaking (continued) The Mansion Matters Spring edition 2012

Introducing our House Chair: David HeisigDavid is a board member and has assumed responsibilities for keeping the interior of the house running smoothly. He has sin-gle handedly reduced our car-bon footprint and energy bill by replacing incandescent light bulbs (which burned out all too often) with new CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs. David has cleaned and cleared out most of

the closets on the second and third floors. He is organizing the various holiday decorations and storing them in a safer place than the attic. We have new safe, small step ladders to reach things on top shelves or to turn on the air conditioners. And, David man-ages the general layout of the house and helps with the relocation of furniture for events. All changes to rooms should be checked with David first. There are several openings on David’s commit-tee. If we have enough volunteers, one would only have to work once or twice a month for a couple of hours. Contact David at dheisig@twcny.rr.com if you are interested in seeing what goes on behind closed doors.

Black History Month

Our “Meet the Authors Tea” was held at the Mansion on Sunday afternoon, February 26. It was a resounding success. Fifty attendees came to hear Joyce E. Jones read a chapter of her soon-to-be published book: “Beyond the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, a Heroine”. It is a fascinating ac-count of her great, great, grand aunt Harriet’s life in Auburn, New York and her service during the Civil War.

Also, Thomas Augustine Guiler, IV, gave a short presentation linking the importance of George Barnes and his abolitionist activities to the mansion itself and the mansion’s connection to Syracuse history. Tom recently com-pleted research on a biog-raphy of George Barnes for the Barnes Foundation. His work is being edited for publication later this year.

SU Student Films MansionIn March, Kyle Robert Kuchta, SU College of Visual and Performing Arts, Class of 2013, visited the mansion to film background for a music video he was producing. We are ex-cited about the final product. The mansion was featured as the entire backdrop for the song “John Stuart Mill”. The song was written by I Low (aka Colin Reynolds, who also plays guitar and does the vocal). Mr. Reynolds explains his inspiration for the song: “John Stuart Mill was written for moments spent on the verge of affirming a belief with action, when you’ve realized that your conviction must move you to change. It

takes its name from a nineteenth century English philosopher who, with the support of his longtime friend and wife, wrote at length about social and civil liberty (among other things) and fought to express a new idea - to create the potential for change…. This song was made for those times of fear and veracity.” How appropriate, given the history of the mansion and the work of the Barnes family.

You can view the video on You Tube at:http://youtu.be/FLP_0offUJk

Thank you Kyle for sharing the mansion with the public.

Vase or “Vahz”?During one of our closet cleanings, we found a broken vase (vahz?). It was the match for one sitting alone on the mantle in the Pink room on the second floor. One of our board members took it to a restorer to have it fixed.

Well, the restorer did a fantastic job….for a fantastic price. We are mentioning it because we thought that there may be those that appre-ciate the eco-friendly approach to repair (instead of throwing it out), or would just welcome an old friend back, who might toss a buck or two in an envelope to help offset the cost of the repair.

We want to thank our Corinthian Club sisters for a sizeable donation. The Club paid for half the cost of the repair.

Any donations of $10 or greater can be acknowledged for tax purposes.

(Just add that to the envelope). You can mail it to 930 James St., Syracuse, NY 13203 or drop it off at the mansion on Mondays or Wednesdays.

Tour de Champagne IIThe George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation is pleased to announce the date for our second annual Tour de Cham-pagne is Saturday, September 22, 2012.

If you attended last year, you know this is a first class event. The wines are fine French champagne with a few sparkling wines added, supplied by the major distributors. The food is donated by area restaurants and is superbly matched with the wines. In keeping with the fine wine and great food, the entertainment is exceptional and the dress is “Black Tie Preferred”. Save the date, we expect a sell-out crowd this year. Information will be available on our website and by mail as we make progress on the program.

Judge Hiscock’s Bedroom (Red Room)Thanks to a generous donation last year from John Gottschalk and his mother, Henrietta, we have the original bed that Judge Frank Hiscock slept in. John is the great grandson of Judge Frank Hiscock and the great, great grandson of George Barnes. Along with the bed, we received a stunning mahogany drop leaf table that will also be on display in the room.

Marge & Cliff Mellor have donated her grandmother’s rocking chair. This pristine example of upholstered rocker is from the same era and is placed in the bedroom as historically similar to what might have been available to the judge to sit and relax. Judge Hiscock’s bedroom was unveiled at the May 3rd Annual membership meeting and will be a new aspect of the June Save the Mansion Tour. If you are familiar with the story of the judge, you know he went to bed every evening at 9:00…regardless of who might be visiting. We hope you enjoy this authentic addition to the historic Barnes Hiscock mansion.

More historic furnitureWe are pleased to display an ornate inlaid cabinet and table on loan from the Frank H. Hiscock II family. The furniture was originally from the mansion and was in the front for-mal parlor. Frank Harris Hiscock II and Henrietta Gottschalk were the children of George Barnes Hiscock and Genevieve Saxon. And, George Barnes Hiscock was the son of Bessie and Judge Frank Hiscock.

We have a copy of the letter Bessie wrote to her children in 1935, dis-bursing some of the furniture and per-

sonal possessions after her death. In addition to the furniture listed above, the estate is loaning us several ornate candelabra (or giran- doles) some photographs and a hand crocheted coverlet that is on the judge’s bed. We are trying to get these new items in and set up for the annual meeting and the Save the Mansion Tour in June.

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The Mansion Matters Spring edition 2012

Remember, you can help the GR Barnes Foundationwhen buying items you need online at:

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930 James StreetSyracuse, NY 13203

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The harp museA photo of the harp muse from the dining room mural was used on the cover of the Winter 2011 edition of American Harp Journal.

(Detail of mural by Tommasso Juglaris, 1884) - A scene from a board frieze in the dining room of Barnes Hiscock mansion designed by architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee for George and Rebecca Barnes in Syracuse NY. Now owned by the Barnes Foundation, the mansion is on the National Historic Register and the National Parks Underground Rail-road Network to Freedom.