The Freedom Trail

— The Underground Railroad —

" ...take into consideration the Principles of the American Government, and the extent to which they are trampled under foot by the Fugitive Slave Law."—a call for a mass convention, signed by George Barnes, 1851
George and Rebecca Barnes represent European American business and reform families, many of them identified with the Syracuse and Utica Railroad and the Unitarian Church, who were committed abolitionist organizers and Underground Railroad supporters and who used their resources to exert public pressure and to raise money for the cause. Married in 1849, they built their Italianate-style home in 1853.
Born in England, Barnes was a law partner of Charles Sedgwick, attorney for abolitionist Gerrit Smith, and close friend of John Wilkinson, organizer of the New York Central Railroad, which provided free passes for many freedom seekers. Barnes, Sedgwick, and Wilkinson formed a core group of Underground Railroad supporters. All three of the men served as members of the thirteen-person Vigilance Committee appointed for Syracuse in October 4, 1850. George Barnes signed a call for a mass convention to be held in the Syracuse City Hall on October 14, 1851 "to take into consideration the Principles of the American Government, and the extent to which they are trampled under foot by the Fugitive



Slave Law." Barnes and Sedgwick also contributed bail money for those indicted as a result of the Jerry Rescue. George Barnes, with others, signed bail for $2000 each for a group of three white men. Barnes also signed bail for $4000 for William Thompson, an African American teacher who lived on Syracuse's north side. Sedgwick served as legal counsel for the Jerry rescuers.

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