She was living in the house untilshe owned it until she died, and then I would take it over. And he died young. Then I got shipped to Europe. And we had our barracks, of course, and having your barracks, the only thing you had was a big trunk where you kept all your clothes in. Copyright 1998 2023 New York Preservation Archive Project. Q: No, that covers it! And I had this goddamn old sergeant who was going back also, but he was getting out of the service, and he was being discharged. Those stables? Q: Did you keep up a conversation with Mario Buatta about. But how many people really have a sense of history anymore? They were great. From what youve described, the different places that have been demolished over the years were extremely different from each other. There was the main house, over here was the bar, over here was this big dining room, and this was the main house. I mean, these little gold chairs, are Victorianthats a Victorian chaireverything is really Victorian. And I looked back, you could hardly see the house. Or is that real? That was real. She left things there. Im gonna go look. Burke: I think that waswhod ya call-it got me involved with that. He brought a crowd with him and it was just to tell him thank you for everything that hes done. Burke: Yes, I had to go down in the basement, and put a post, and then I had to jack up the stairs. In fact, my mother worked there. For example, could you tell what the original construction was? They gave me the fabric and they did it and such. Q: When you were youngwhen you were a kid. By the time I got to the to where they were discharging them and such, he had just been discharged and left on an airplane. And there was a big flight of stairs that went across the big porch across the front of the house, posts. She spent most of her life as a homemaker. And whats going on up the street here now? I hope it isnt that the people who have access come in and empty it because Ive had people say, Oh, when youre not here, Im taking that painting, and Im taking that painting, and I want that couch, you know. Im getting rid of everything. He said, I have three of the most beautiful Persian carpets from Persia, said, You cant get them anymore. He said, Theyre antiques but they are brand new, never used. He said, Im giving them to you. And this is them. Burke: Let me think of how all that started. If you are going to stay, you better do this this and this, whatever the hell it was. He introduced me all the time tobecause look at look at what he was. Q: Was that here in the house? The front porch was up high. So I moved into the house here. Is there anything, you think? And they said, Well, we cant handle it, George. Q: So what was it like when you had the house finished and furnished? Yes. And right outside the window right here, is a great big round, thing thats all brickgreat big round thing, big as this room, covered-overand thats where all the water from the drain pipe from the roof would go in there and fill it, and it was called a cistern, and that was connected to the kitchen downstairs. So I said, Well, Bess, if youre interested in doing it, Im interested in doing it.. That was her name. But, God, that was almost 100 years ago, you know? These are those Persian carpets. Destroyed. But that was a big improvement, putting in the kitchen, because there never was a kitchen in the houseand where the kitchen is now, that was the laundry room. Lives in Rochester, New York. Burke: Oh my god. When I bought the house, the real estate people, they wouldnt go in. And it was called SS White [Dental Manufacturing Company]. And when I seen it all over there, and when I seen the British people were poor as church mice, they were selling everything. Its Meissen. When did it start to feel done? Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. Q: Well, tell me about getting started on this house. Burke: Oh, and then the house, when I bought it, everybodythe real estate lady, she wouldnt come in. Q: Okay. Q: Can you tell me about the ghost in that house? So she said, Bess said, Were going to have to quit, George. I said Oh, shit. And he said, Mom, Ill move in to the other part of the house. Im going to get gifts now because Im staying in the house and Im going to fix it up.. Burke: Mario Buatta and a couple of people of his friends that were just as big. Is there anything else that you would like to add about the house as it is now, the history, or the future of the house? And she couldntthey couldnt keep up with it anymore. Q: Right. [laughs]. Q: So well have audio recording and a transcript for researchersand Ill remove those names that you mentioned, Linda. It was like a mansion youve never seen. So I moved into the front parlor room, there. It was so overgrown in the front yard and everything. So he came out. So I said, Well, I would have named it The Rossville Inn because it was in Rossville, but he will he loved Bermuda and he wanted Bermuda Inn. So I said, Yes, John, well call it the Old Bermuda Inn. So most of the stuff is Victorianturn of the century and Victorian. So theres no more Scalamandr, I dont think, is there? Burke: Hawaii. Join Facebook to connect with George Burke and others you may know. Burke: Oh. I had a bulldozer two weeks, riding back-and-forth, and back-and-forth, and back-and-forth across the front of the house because you couldnt see the house from the water. They just couldnt handle it. They cant do anything. Q: And did you keep records of the restoration process? I cant think of the name of the thing now. What were the things that you did when you were young? Burke: I never lived in a little small house, I have no idea. George Burke was born on Staten Island and grew up in Annandale before moving to Florida with his family. He had the military ship the items back to family members in New York City, a perk of military service that made moving his collection back to the States possible. This old? Tell me when you want me to start. From last time I saw it, it looked like it needed a bulldozer! She said, No, no, no. She said, you can save it. She lived up on Lighthouse Hill. He did so much work for you. And then you could walk under the porch out into the garden. Death and Obituary Indexes from the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library includes: Buffalo Deaths, 1882-1892; Death Notices and Obituaries in the Buffalo News, 4-22-2009 to 2010; Index to Births, Marriages, and Deaths found in select Buffalo and Erie County Publications, 1870s-1950; some cemetery burial records; and other items. And I just got a call from all my lady friends saying that my house is falling apart. Theyre getting rid of everything! So a couple of days later, I have a dream. Must have been twelve big columns, it was, oh! Q: Was it Mario that suggested the life tenancy agreement? Linda? You just named them. If it wasnt for Mrs. Mackey across the street telling me about the funeral, I would have never known. Burke: Of course, I come from a big house. I mean, I could do a little woodwork, but I wasnt a carpenter. [laughs] But, itll be here. Save my house. And I thought, Oh, shit. I was down on the beach one day, I forgot what were doing. Burke: So, my sister Marge, and my sister Bess, would come over and help me. And underneath it was a whole kitchen and dining room that opened out to under the porch. Q: and Linda Daller for the New York Preservation Archive Project. If you want to come, behave yourselves. The one in particular, United States Steel [Corporation]. So tell me about when you went to Europe. So whenever the big surgeons traveled, I always traveled with themtraveled all over Europe. Find your ancestry info and recent death notices for relatives and friends. So I run downstairs. Burke: Okay. It turned my stomach just to watch all of that gorgeous stuff just destroyed. George Burke is the restorer of the historic Seguine Mansion on the South Shore of Staten Island, where he has lived and taken care of the property for over four decades. Burke: No, who gave me that? We had beautiful stuff in our home, all the time. Its a part of the history that should remain. Daller: But it was the thing with the lilacs smell. And then Iwhatd I do then, Ioh, I paid for this house, didnt I? I could. And, I had a lot of time over there in London and so I decided, Well, hell, Im going to go to school and learn something. So I took interior design. Daller: No. And that was a kitchen, and that was bedrooms and a little living room, all up there. Burke: Down in the basement, my friend Eriche was great, with this Ouija board and all this stuffand he said, George, lets do a seance! So we got a bunch of people together and we went all down in the basement. Would you? Its unreal! Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. Im always doing something. And the house across the street from it, the Old [Sir Walter] Tyrrell House. Burke: Scalia. Im sorry that, during all that construction, I wasnt taking photographs, of step by step. That was a shame. Daller: So can you imagine a three room apartment filled to the brim with antiques? All my life, I was raised in a big house. Half the railings were gone off the porch, and the column was falling over, and, oh, Jesus. And with the money that I made from there, I put it right back in the building. And how people went along with them, I dont know either. And there was nobody but my mother and I now, living in our house. But that was biga big, two-bedroom condo. Because the problem was is that my uncle was paying for everything in the househe was paying for the heating, he was paying all the utilities, paying all the bills. Theyre deciding they want to build, so they tear down and build. And if I couldnt take care of them, Id call down to the base and theyd send a helicopter and theyd pick them up and take them down to the hospital, because we had to take care of them, because Alaska was ours, and all the Eskimos was our responsibility. But, with that money, I paid this house off. Burke: Oh, God, I stood on the edge here and I watched what was going on over there. And I, throughout the time, I went from room to room in the house and restored it. Most recent obituaries in New York. I forgot whose house it was. And he come from a very, very wealthy family in Madrid. And the people that lived there, they got a little too old to stay there. Probably. So one day, my sister Bess said to my mother and me, she said, Go pack. And if they only would have remained, they would have been a part of it, and everything could have been fully appreciated. And they repaired all these taxis, repainted them, and then sold them all to Cuba. So coming back to it was a change. According to the funeral home, the following services have. I mean, lets face it. And then one of my brothers had just gotten out of the military. And on top of that, I still worked for Sherwin Williams. I dont think anythings missing? Daller: Mm-hmm. But they tore the house down to build that school. Yes, but that was all the legal aspect of it. And the White Party we do in order to take care of doing cleanup on the lawn, doing any kind of plantings, or anything, because he did it all the years. Good God! And the house was really, needed shapebut thank God it was built as well is it was built, otherwise it would have fallen down. Burke - 1 - 2 and grew up 90% of my time on Staten Island until I became old enough and I joined the military. He was an antiquehe had a big rug business in. And it was twice the size of this house. Theyd work out, and theyd be waiters, or this and that. And they were big floors. Thats not good. The same thing thats going on with statues. But I put the kitchen in the basement and sealed up that, because once that filled up with water, it would leak into the basement. That is the only thing that worries methat the house will be stripped. He was an old craftsman from the other side. Oh, that was the ghost in Tottenville. Yes, Mrs. Mackey. Beloved husband of Rosanna (Ialuna) Burke. You want to take down every statue thats been there for a thousand years because, No, that statue shouldnt be there. Thats the usual setup, I think, for historic houses. That place took off like you couldnt believe. The walkway going to the beach, its still there, where the house was. Q: How did you establish a relationship with the Parks Department and the Historic House Trust? Im gonna save it, its a gorgeous house!. I went to grammar school and high school here. I was in the mansion when the sisters lived there. Or was that brother Ed? Because he lived right here, lived right here on Staten Island. Yes. And if you went around with Mario Buatta, that was like going with the President of the United States. And I had beautiful big pieces of Meissen that I got when I was in Germany, and it all went here and there andI cant get it back. And he owned the funeral home. Burke: Oh, I loved her. 06/26/1943 - 02/20/2023. And I want my painting. But that was the cistern for doing all the laundry and everything in the basement. A couple of years ago, I painted them this color, didnt I? Right. I went to boot camp, I loved it. The oldwhat the hell was itgrocery store. You said you started with the basement. That was a great house. And he said, George, you know, that big, beautiful house that sits empty? Because he paid for the entire outside himself. Daller: Well, he hopes that Historic House Trust and the Parks Department work hand in hand and maintaining itthat theyll maintain it as a museum. Burke: Oh, it was all overgrown with undergrowth. And I went around and we all hadyou were only allowed to buy two bottles of wine and a bottle of whiskey, or something. So I had all my goodies packed in a box, getting ready to go. Burke: Well, I dont know if people will ever realize in years and years to come that I saved so much, but they did give me a plaque for restoration. I was born right in the hospital across the street, and grew up 90% of my time on Staten Island until I became old enough and I joined the military. You dont have to worry about, sleeping on your couches and all that kind of stuff, and, you know, pulling out fake beds, and that kind of stuff. Family and friends must say goodbye to their beloved George Burke of Hull, Massachusetts, who passed away at the age of 63, on October 2, 2021. Just as long as its saved and its here. Daller: And he formed the board in order to support the house. It was piled up in their basement. And I decided, well, Im going to pick up some nice buildings. My father was in the political-end, and he was in Borough Hall and everything like that. Burke: Sure. Eventually, he was able to move his collection of Victorian-style furnishings safely into the home, and add to it larger pieces of furniture to complete the restoration. But I still have a lot of it. What the hell is this? All of a sudden, she went, Youre in my house, and get out! Holy Christ. They just went and just vandalized it to hell until there was nothing but a shell left. Either you buy me out, or I buy you out. You got to get out. So we moved to Florida. She was a very good friend of mine, a really pretty lady. George Burke. And Im looking at looking at it and I said, You know, thats the last house. Burke: Greek revival. Because it was a big roof, like this, and then the gutters run around. Where all the servants lived. Brother Celestine George Burke, an educator who was a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for 63 years, died on Thursday at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, N.J. . The Greek Revival house is one of the few surviving examples of 19th Century life on Staten Island. And it was quite difficult to maintain the big house we were living in. Q: Was it a similar style? Burke: Yes, and I had a beautiful apartment for years in St. George. Dont look at me. He was always at the stables there. Do you drink? No, we dont drink. So I would collect all the stamps. And a couple of my friends came as bartenders for me. So we lived there, and it was a big courtyard and there were four buildings and the center courtyard was all grass. Q: Did you start the restoration process at that house? Burke: Oh, I forgot about that. Youre working too hard. It feels like home, because thats what its been. And she was living here all by herself. But I had all that money! And Luis Caizares painted that. WHEN George Burke was growing up on Staten Island in the 1930s and '40s, he used to ride horses with a pair of sisters, Elizabeth and Belle Seguine. Nobody wants to do that. That house, it was a big French mansard, big Victorian. So, unfortunately, there arent many people that care that way anymore. But the problem is, its so limited on Staten Island. Lets move out, youre being kicked out anyway, the house is sold. Q: Can you tell me about moving the collections here, out of storage and out of your sisters houses into this house? Everybody smelled like that. Because, now, they cant tear it down. Daller: It just went right out of my head! Burke: Oh, well, the Eskimos up there would give me beautiful mukluks and all kinds of things. And hes the one that did my portrait upstairs. She had to move them to New Jersey. She was a nasty old lady! But that was funny. Id love that old house. I said, But Bess, I said your houseI dont know about saving it. The real estate lady wouldnt come in. And then I shipped it all back home. Why cant they just appreciate something for what it is? Would you sell me the acres in the front? Burke: So then I gave it to the Historic House Trust of New York. Visitation will be held on April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Ave, Staten Island, NY. It wasnt fair to him to keep paying for it. They were some kind of jewelry like that but I dont remember what it was. Thats what I wanted. Get out. I dont need The Death of Cleopatra hanging above my fireplace. They bought a house. That whole salon set there was a Victorian salon setand the couch is a camelback. Daller: Yes. This was the farmhouse. People that owned U.S. Steel, their mansion was over there. Q: The stuff that you got in England, from Mrs. Murphy. Then upstairs, was all the bedrooms. What the hell is that coming from? So I come down the stairs, and as I got down the stairs, the spelling got stronger and stronger. I went over there, and it was standing up sleeping! What the hell do you think it was? He was predeceased by his mother Lena Russo-Tredici. And he did these two chairs. The roof was shot because the old guy that was caretaker here, he used to walk around on the roof and watch all the boats in the harbor. That was the most beautiful mansion. I saved that, thats still there. So as long as I own it, I own it, theyll pay for it. Because people will come in, and therell be four or five people and somebody will walk by and just pick this up, and pick that up. Theres too much business going on here. So were talking about this and talking about this. I loved Alaska. And in order to have food and such, youd have to bring it up the back stairs. Yes. I think I got the two of them for five bucks or something like that. Burke: He did almost all the upholstery in the house. Burke: Oh, what I want to do isover that fireplace, I want to take that painting downand bring my painting and put it over that fireplace. Q: Yes, you can tell me about your early life and the memories you have of growing up here. Were going to this estate. They were all six floor walkups and, thats where you lived! You buy me out. And he bought me out. So it took a fortune, but I had it, all that money, to restore the house. Prince Edward Island. And there were two windows, like this. Because she would always want her bottle of booze. They had The [Charging] Bull in the city and they had the little [Fearless] Girl there. Burke: Well, I knew how to do it. He worked by himself. Hell utilize every room of the house. He was incurring all the expenses. Hes done it for forty-plus years, now its time to give back. And my other sisternow, of course shes passed awaybut now her daughter took it, and the daughter gave it to her daughter. Burke: I had a beautiful big old house in Tottenville that I loved. Burke: Im glad I did. Burke: Chris will stay living here. I want it now. I could never get it. There was nine of us in the whole family. I mean, its physically impossible. It was a mess of a mess. Served in NYPD for 25 years, ran many mararthons George Arthur Croake, 78, of Manasquan, NJ (previously Flatbush, Brooklyn & New Dorp, Staten Island) passed away peacefully . Because look how long the war went, and England had nothing. Daller: Thats a story you should share, about the lilacs and the lady. And thats where she was. She said, You saw her in your dream. I said, Holy shit, I said, you think that was her? She said, It could have been her. I said, Then she went like that and chased me out of her house. She said, That was her. Q: [Laughs] Yes. And he asked me would I be interested in working for him out here on Staten Island. Staten Island . Im offered fortunes for the front field, for the side field, for the backfield. They even stopped you riding in the parks. I found him through somebody. But you do have Chris thats upstairs that lives in the servants quarters. And, oh, nobefore then, when I had moved in, I had moved in, and the house had been empty for years. Just landmarked. It was a mess. But I forgot what the other two things were. And the porch went all like this, around the house. What are we gonna do here? So he said, Well, I really love doing this, George. And I said, Okay, John, thats fine. But you used tell me. And she kept, George, please, go save my house. So the next day, Im up and Im outside. And Im glad I did what I did, about just giving it to the National Historic Trust. Some kind of jewelry like that and chased me out, Youre in my house buildings and center... With his family, Well, I went from room to room in the quarters... They want to take down every statue thats been there for a years. 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