Daller: So not that much time was spent on Staten Island. So I moved into the front parlor room, there. And so I had all that stuff in my apartment. Burn it down, put a candle in the middle of the hall. So everything just kept going off and someone would have all of this, someone would have all of that. Because I wanted the man that built the house, and this is the man that saved the house. So the next day, Im up and Im outside. Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. I would have saved it. And he dealed in antique rugs, and regular rugs and everything. Burke: Okay. So she said, Bess said, Were going to have to quit, George. I said Oh, shit. Copyright 1998 2023 New York Preservation Archive Project. Constantly. Daller: Thats a story you should share, about the lilacs and the lady. And I had a beautiful restaurant and a bar connected to it. Formal gardens, stablesstables that you could live in. Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. So, Id do that. Burke: Yes, he did that little sofa there. Q: When you were youngwhen you were a kid. Burke: And what is a shame islike, you take [one of our former boarders], she has two horses that she used to keep here all the time. Because Mrs. Seguine was holding the. By Carol Ann Benanti | benanti@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's designated one of Staten Island's signature society events of the year, a. They cant develop it. Its a plus for the borough too. You are to get out. Now, this is a portrait of Joseph Seguine. Thats why I did what I did, because I figured that if anything ever happens to me, all of this, now, will have to stay as it is. But anyway, I had come back to America. So we need to get help. But anyway, she said, Im not going in the house. But they donated it to the Sisters of Charity, figuring that the nuns could live in that gorgeous mansion. And we cant come over here because both of them lived way out in New Jersey, and theyd come every day. Its, all the numbers are accounted for. Oh, God, I worked so damn hard. Daller: No. But before we know it, there wont be a thing left in the house. Burke: Ed. So theres no more Scalamandr, I dont think, is there? Dont remember what happened to it, right? Utica. And with the Air Force, I enjoyed every minute. And when youd come down, there wasthe stairwell come down, and it was a double parlor, like this, and where this door was, was with two double doors. Thanks very much to you. And that went for years. They were some kind of jewelry like that but I dont remember what it was. Its a real pretty smell. She said, Yes, its lilacs. She said Mrs. Whatever-her-name-was always had to have lilacs. But some strange things did happen in the house. Burke kept records of the work, most of which he completed himself and financed the through the sale of his business, the Tidewater Inn. Q: Your collection of the items that you bought from Mrs. Murphy. And she was living here all by herself. And he was the one that took me around and showed me where to get the good fabric. So we talked to our brother Bill and he had come up with the money, bought the house. And I was so damn busy, I never got to go home. So I went down and I just went around and everything I seenall the stuff you see hanging in this house, most of it come from me going around and wheeling and dealing in, you might as well say, the black market. So tell me about when you went to Europe. Its Meissen. Daller: You werent here. She would say, The lilacs still in the front hall? And Id say, Oh, is that what that smell is? And hes the one that did my portrait upstairs. 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. Burke, who knew of the home and property from the time when he was a child, was committed to the challenge. I was seventeen years with the Air Force. In Europe, he felt like he had been. We have a choice in having a caretaker come in also to maintain it. Tell us about when you were born? And Id go downtown and Id wheel and deal for a bottle of whiskey. And it was twice the size of this house. But he was excellent. Daller: Right, we really dont discuss any of that. She left things there. So thank you. So I gave it to them. But you do have Chris thats upstairs that lives in the servants quarters. Because she would always want her bottle of booze. George: Oh, I knew the Seguines for years. [laughs] And I lived there for a long time. All these walls used to be white. And they did. Everybody came in to a coldwater flat in the Bronx and walked in amazed because theyve never seen anything like that. And Luis was really, really a great guy. Of course, nothings there. In good condition? So I paid it off and bought it in cash, with the cash. Q: Yes. First thing I started with was the basement because it had four-foot of water in it. George Burke was born on Staten Island and grew up in Annandale before moving to Florida with his family. As a young adult, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the medical department, spending time in locations across Europe and Alaska. In fact, he was just a few years older than I, and wasnt it last year we were trying to locate him? So we brought that point up a few times. And that way, it wouldnt burn the houses down. And I dream that I heard some noise. Big fluted columns with big Corinthian capitals on them. And that was nothing but a little house that caught firewas just a little, little house. They just couldnt handle it. So when I get out of the service, I got a job. He was 63. Daller: Then you got rid of thatbut those are the early days. Troy. And he wanted to retire and he gave his son the business. And that was the Air Force. https://www.nypap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/BurkeGeorge_20211109_access_redacted.mp3. And if theyre gonna make a museum out of it, theyre gonna have to pay somebody to greet people and take them on tours. I said to him, Are you kidding? Q: So tell me about what its been like for you to live here. That was the most beautiful mansion. Were going to this estate. But things that, well, were thatyou needed carpenters that knew, that were good carpenters. Then I got shipped to Europe. And underneath it was a whole kitchen and dining room that opened out to under the porch. And their mansion, the White people that owned SS White, the White family, owned right across the creek, there, where the Captains Quarters [private development] are. So most of the stuff is Victorianturn of the century and Victorian. Restored the building, looked around, come down, bought this house from Mrs. Seguine, and then moved out of the bar and restaurantbecause I had a room upstairs in it. Id bring her bottles of whiskey and shed say, Listen, George, Im going to an estate for saleeverything in it is going! I dont want you in this house. Burke: I was thinking about getting a big home, having a home, and what I would want in itthe paintings, what kind of furniture, carpets, everything. Its a big plaque on it, its landmarked and everything. She had a caretaker or she had a woman that took care of her, or something. George Burke is one of these dedicated keepers: He minds the Seguine Mansion, which he bought in 1981. People that owned U.S. Steel, their mansion was over there. He had come into my room when I was not there, stole everything. She was a nasty old lady! But that was funny. All Rights Reserved, Town Departments at Work: The role of each part of your local government. Daller: It was like, we cant even find him anymore. Or is that real? That was real. She came and did a lot for the draperies and everything here. Thats ittheres no more of them. So I go downstairs. Would you just sell me two acres there? And when they werent in the house, they would go and buy them at the stores, and there was always lilacs in the house. Its Greek Revival. The mayor and everybody else in the cityyou cant ride on the beach. No, its not something were talking about right now. There isnt a room he doesnt go into. Right. You couldnt even see it. Theres too much business going on here. So were talking about this and talking about this. But I restored all that. But the one that I remember was a great big brooch. I open the door to the parlor. And, minute he bought the house, did a little work in it, put it right up for sale. In my early twenties? Save my house. And I thought, Oh, shit. I was down on the beach one day, I forgot what were doing. So it just became a moot point. And if they only would have remained, they would have been a part of it, and everything could have been fully appreciated. And I went from room to room and it took me a couple of years, didnt it? So I would walk around, Id look and Id see some beautiful stuff for sale, for nothing. It wasnt fair to him to keep paying for it. And then, it wasI guess that was in the spring, then later on, I dont know what I was doing. 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. Hes the man that built the house. A necklace with a gold heart that opened like a. She was the girl who hired me, and she ran the big Sherwin Williams store. And I wanted these little chairs tufted but he had passed away before he could get around to tuft. Burke: Well, when it came to really heavy construction, like this whole wall being rebuilt and things, I had to hire carpenters and I had to hire plasters to plaster the ceiling. But the old lady that lived there was very, very sick. Scarpaci Funeral Home of Staten Island LLC. And a friend of mine I was very good friendly with was John. I want to go back and ask for some more details about your childhood. And my neighbor across the street, who had lived there forever, she comes over again with a couple of little plants for me. And we were sitting in the kitchen in the basement and he was going on the Ouija board and I said, What does it say, what does it say? And Eric is sitting there and hes talking, and hes sounding like a lady, and hes saying, Youre in my house, and I dont want you. Theyre getting rid of everything! And my brother Bill and my brother Ed decided to go into an automobile repair shop. Sign up for NYPAP mailings and our Newsletter to stay up-to-date. John T Burke passed away on April 22, 2015 in Whiting, NJ and is under the care of. Remember him? Or did you have to just guess and make decisions? Get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers in memory of a loved one in New York. It would have been spectacular but greed set in, and thats what they did. Lets move out, youre being kicked out anyway, the house is sold. I dont need The Death of Cleopatra hanging above my fireplace. Burke: Of course, Id been in Alaska for all that time. I moved in, I cleaned it all up. I think I got the two of them for five bucks or something like that. [laughs]. He was the top interior designer in New York. And were doing this interview in Burkes home, in the Seguine Mansion on the South Shore of Staten Island. While stationed in England, he studied interior design and architectural history and began to collect antiques through estate sales and flea markets, focusing on ceramics, paintings, light fixtures, and many other decorative items from the Victorian era. Interviewee: George Burke Location: Staten Island, NY Interviewer: Sarah Dziedzic Date: November 9, 2021 . Burke: the Historic House people did give me a big bronze plaque to put on the front of it. Theyre very few. Id come back up and I could still smell it in the hallway. You come out and take over the boys and mens department in the store. I said, Thats fine. Burke: Well, I wanted a beautiful Victorian look. And theyd come out and Id get involved with them. 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. Right across the creek. But when they were building houses, if you had a third story, your taxes went out of sight! And they said, Well, we cant handle it, George. They couldnt. As a young adult, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the medical department, spending time in locations across Europe and Alaska. And through all the years that the old lady had this woman taking care of her, the lilacs were always in bloomwhen they were in bloom, they were in the house. And he said, George, Im selling my business. 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. You werent allowed to buy much because it was worth a fortune over there to the general public, to the British. All these empty buildings and things. And he come from a very, very wealthy family in Madrid. So I took that out of the brick and I got some cement, put it all back in, put the wall back up. Who Where Receive obituaries Yenula Hennaka February 24, 2023 Its a part of the history that should remain. Daller: And he uses every room, he doesnt sit in one room. Yes, she died and she was in the front parlor in the coffin, wasnt she? Eric. Unfortunately, all the grounds areI dont even know if the house is there anymore! And we used to say, Wow, wonder who lives there? Q: So what was it like when you had the house finished and furnished? And it was quite difficult to maintain the big house we were living in. See Photos. And then you could walk under the porch out into the garden. I said, No, no, no. It was terrible. Burke: Yes, I had to go down in the basement, and put a post, and then I had to jack up the stairs. And with the money that I made from there, I put it right back in the building. Anyway, I said, Oh boy, did I have a scary dream. I told her my dream. Burke: To put it backbecause the house was ruined, it was in terrible shape. I had no idea that that was it, when I bought the house or anything. So it took a fortune, but I had it, all that money, to restore the house. So I moved into the house here. [laughs]. Burke: Oh. Burke: Yes, there was a little man in New Jersey. Im going to get gifts now because Im staying in the house and Im going to fix it up.. And the backyard is beautiful. They tear down one house and build five. His family was like aristocratic. I bought the house and Bess and Marge came over. She was a very good friend of mine, a really pretty lady. It was a sweet sixteen Ill never forget. You could see with all the houses over here, its gotten very built up. But I had all this beautiful carved stuff. Burke: The only thing is, the house will be closed. And I said, Was that a dream? Daller: Thats been acquired over the years. 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. But I forgot what the other two things were. Well, what are we talking about? More beautiful than peoples houses. Viewing times and guestbooks can be found here . And, then I gotwhod I get from the city? So they. Burke: And its great when you have friends come, you have extra bedrooms, you can put them all up. And then I shipped it all back home. I think so. Thats what I wanted. And it was actually three stories high. And I took that for years. Burke: Oh, its in beautiful condition because the guy I told you, Jimmy Pistilli, he had it landmarked. Did you know that from? Put through the years, people recognized it and everything. But you used tell me. Its down in Tottenville, beautifully done. Q: Yes. Of course, she loved the smell of lilacs. He used to stay out here. The fact that the Seguine familythis was the farmhouse, their mansion was in Rossvilleand thats long gone. Yes, he helped me with the colors, and this and that, and what I should getgood orientals for the floor, which I had but they werent these. You know, nobody wanted to end it but nobody wanted to, say, Lets do it. Q: Yes, absolutely. Theyre deciding they want to build, so they tear down and build. Well, he lived on Staten Island. And from the garden, you could come back in under the porch and down into the kitchen in the basement. But I dreamt it and I knew every single thing about it. And then when you could see the house, it was a goddamn mess. Because he paid for the entire outside himself. So I just grew up with it, knowing it. And I went in and I noticed my big box was gone. It was unbelievably gorgeous. I started with the basement. Lookit, I saved the police station and the two buildings next to the police station. But the problem is, its so limited on Staten Island. George Burke's White Party NEW! That poor horse. George Burke was born on Staten Island and grew up in Annandale before moving to Florida with his family. I slept in it, lived in it, ate in it. She stated, George, I want you to save my house, and agreed to sell the house for a feasible sum in exchange for his promise to restore it. You know, he just passed away. So, unfortunately, there arent many people that care that way anymore. I mean, after it was finished, who cared? And also about the history of Staten Island, or the style that the house is decorated in, the Victorian style, your collection. Luis was great. Lives in Rochester, New York. Daller: Oh, I dont know. February 15, 2023 (81 years old) View obituary. What are we gonna do here? So he said, Well, I really love doing this, George. And I said, Okay, John, thats fine. Do you remember that? Burke: One was a necklace with a heart on it. Burke: Okay. I was living in London, and I was studying the history of art and design, or something like that, in the University of London, and he was going and he was studying art. When I bought the house, the real estate people, they wouldnt go in. 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. So then I said, well, what the hell am I gonna do? And what they did is they bought a whole fleet of old taxis. Youre working too hard. Burke: What its been like for you to live here. Create an obituary. So, thats it, I said, to hell with it. Would you like to elaborate on that? Like there was old Greek, like the Parthenon, the Greek templesoh, it was beautiful. Daller: Mm-hmm. That wasyou probably dont rememberthere was this great big factory right down here, built on the beach. Burke: Oh, God, Mario come out here all the time. A lot of these drapes, they did. I come down the stairs and I opened the door. Or you can do a small whatever. So all the big mansions were built with outside kitchens. And I, throughout the time, I went from room to room in the house and restored it. I was an interior designer. They moved in there, and they lived there. It was piled up in their basement. Most of the furniture thats hereI never furnished the house until I owned it. Daller: And he formed the board in order to support the house. And I lived there for quite a few years. Daller: We lived several places. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of George Burke to show support. So I couldnt take any of the clothes. Most of them were like china and vases, such like that. You cant ride anywhere but in a circle arena. The one in particular, United States Steel [Corporation]. She spent most of her life as a homemaker. So I said to her, I said Bess, the only thing Ill save your house is a bulldozer! They were gorgeous. Phone: (718) 966 . And getting an American Dollar from being in the service, getting my payeven though it wasnt that muchbut at that time, over there, it was worth a fortune. Burke: I had a beautiful big old house in Tottenville that I loved. And I got a good price for that. From last time I saw it, it looked like it needed a bulldozer! She said, No, no, no. She said, you can save it. He brought a crowd with him and it was just to tell him thank you for everything that hes done. 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: Yes. I was in the mansion when the sisters lived there. Burke: Well, I was always an antique collector. And they added this big dining room to the other side of the house. I loved Alaska. So that makes sense. Yes. Q: And how did you decide, I guess, how to rebuild? Otherwise, Id never be able to have half the stuff thats in here because it would have cost me a private fortune to have it shipped. Q: Can you tell me about the ghost in that house? So, I would saywhat was it?the spring, and in the back of the house was the entrance to the cellar with the double doors, where you walked down the stairs, and it was all brick, and it had the doors. He worked by himself. Unfortunately. And I loved it. I fixed it up. I was always in the operating room or someplace like that. So itll be part of Staten Island that people, maybe fifty years from now when theres not a spot left, theyll all come out and theyll look and say, Wow, this is what it used to be.. And the house was like this, a big piece with two big wings. But, with that money, I paid this house off. And a lot of people kept their horses in the stables. And Ill see to it that, financially, things work out for the two of us. 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