Magnificent period as well as original Batcheller family furniture including antique bedstead, armoire, dresser, sofa, table and chairs enrich this spacious deluxe room. A commanding view overlooking Congress Park and our lovely flower garden and fountain to the front of the house add to the rich feeling provided by the 12' ceilings, crown and wall moldings and the blue, gold and red colors in this luxurious room. The en suite bath is the original to the house and is equipped with pedestal sink, over-sized Jacuzzi and separate walk-in shower as well as the original built-in medicine closet/cabinet and original wall tile. The imperial curtains and built-in wooden shutters throughout offer privacy and comfort from the bright morning sun. A cozy reading nook with antique rocker overlooks the garden below. A room truly fit for the master of the house.

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History of George Sherman Batcheller

George Sherman Batcheller began life on July 25, 1837 in the tiny village of Batchellerville in the town of Edinburgh, Saratoga Country, New York.  He was related to Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the great orator and statesman Daniel Webster.

Batcheller received his formal education at Harvard Law School where he received a L.L.B. in 1856.  In 1858 at the age of 21 Batcheller was then the youngest member to be elected to the New York State Assembly.

Miss Catherine Phillips Cook was the daughter of James M. Cook, a New York State Senator and the State Comptroller. In October 1861 George and Catherine were married and on May 19, 1870 Catherine gave birth to a daughter named Katherine: two other children had already died in infancy.

It was in 1872 that Batcheller commissioned the Albany architectural firm of Nichols and Halcott to build the magnificent mansion at 20 Circular Street which Batcheller names Kaser-el-nouzha, which is Arabic for “palace of pleasure”.  Its three floors contained, among other features, eleven bedrooms, five bathrooms, two furnaces, a music room, a library and a dumbwaiter. The plans for the house were considered so special they were patented.

President Grant offered Batcheller the prestigious position of Judge and American Representative to the Court of First Instance in Cairo.  Judge Batcheller resigned that position in 1885 after serving for ten years and returned to Saratoga Springs where he served in the New York Legislature in 1885 and again in 1888.

In 1889 President Harrison appointed Judge Batcheller Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.  In 1891 he was made Minister to Portugal where he and his wife became on intimate terms with the King and Queen.  In 1897 Judge Batcheller was appointed President of the Universal Postal Congress.  When that body adjourned President McKinley gave the 60 year old Batcheller an enviable choice, he could return to Egypt where his old post in the International Courts had recently become vacant.  He chose to return to Egypt.  Four years later, in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted the Judge to the Supreme Court of Appeals in Alexandria, Egypt.  It was in Alexandria that Mrs. Batcheller would die in 1903.  In 1908 Judge Batcheller passed away in Paris while en route to his home in Saratoga.  Their daughter Kate would keep the Batcheller Mansion until 1916 when she would sell to move over to Broadway and the house would pass to others.