And the house across the street from it, the Old [Sir Walter] Tyrrell House. 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. And theyd come out and Id get involved with them. Sign up for NYPAP mailings and our Newsletter to stay up-to-date. Sure, Id no idea of ever owning his house because I had a beautiful big house in Tottenvillebig French style house. And she was laying like this. She lived up on Lighthouse Hill. I remember you always loved it and liked it. Remember him? And I loved it. It was gorgeous and very ornatewas very, very much like Greek Revival. The mansion had a huge ballroom and everything in it. Unlived in, they've been designated museums and have been visited by numerous tourists. Burke: And that was called the Tidewater Inn. And that was nothing but a little house that caught firewas just a little, little house. And hes the one that did my portrait upstairs. I went over there, and it was standing up sleeping! What the hell do you think it was? And then you could walk under the porch out into the garden. And we were great friends. Find your ancestry info and recent death notices for relatives and friends. And from the garden, you could come back in under the porch and down into the kitchen in the basement. And then I was able to get all my stuff out of storage and out of peoples homes where I stored them, and furnished the house and moved and lived in the whole house, took care of it. And people were selling anything out of their house to support themselves and live. And it was actually three stories high. I know all the grounds that were around it were beautiful gardens. Q: Yes, absolutely. 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. I bet. And there were two windows, like this. I said, Where are you? She said, Well, I moved out years ago and went back to Georgia. He said, What in the hell youre buying this old piece of shit for? He said, Is it insured? I said, Yes, I took big insurance on it. He said, Good. Theyre all gone. When he came he got everything going. And it never had a kitchen. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor George may be made to Tunnels to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10306. And he was studying art and he painted my portrait that shell show you, thats upstairs. Most of them were like china and vases, such like that. Q: And did you keep records of the restoration process? But the only thing was it was too small. The mansion, oh god. Burke: Well, I knew how to do it. I probably gave it to Bess. Daller: You know, people dont understand them. But again, I dont know that Staten Island appreciates anything, because we had a Borough President at one time that we asked him a question about something and his answer to my uncle was, Well, why would you want to put a new suit on an old man?. No, its not something were talking about right now. When I was over there looking at their house. And then the Eric woke up, and I said, Well, I dont know. If you stood outside and looked at it, the staircase went that way. George Burke . Daller: But it feels like home. And I want somebody to take care of it. Burke: Oh, I loved her. Daller: Mm-hmm! So I had all my goodies packed in a box, getting ready to go. Lots of photos, costs, everything. They couldnt. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor George may be made to Tunnels to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10306. Staten Island and the South Shore is the only place where people can still move, be in a country feeling, and build what they want to build, and have a garden and have a lawn and, you know, they can be in the country and still be in the city. And my fatherwe were quite wealthy, growing up. Oh, they loved me. But not long ago, I was talking about it. Burke: About the candle? Works at Sandvik. Because there was a big double parlor like this on one side of it. Daller: Well, yes. And a friend of mine I was very good friendly with was John. Burke: Oh, its in beautiful condition because the guy I told you, Jimmy Pistilli, he had it landmarked. Burke: Scalia. I know the Port Richmond store you just bought. Yun Fang Ma, age 75, of Staten Island, New York passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2023. See Photos. Thats not good. The same thing thats going on with statues. Off of Hylan Boulevard? Burke: Yes. But I, also, had many friends with necessary talents and skills who stepped in to help me.How did you acquire all the beautiful furnishings and art work?Some things were family treasures and many I purchased at auctions and in markets when I lived in England.How did your home become a museum?After years of effort and expenses, a negligently ruined house became the magnificent home I then occupied, though it proved to be very expensive to keep up. Burke: Mario Buatta and a couple of people of his friends that were just as big. He was always at the stables there. Well, the paintings and the small stuff like thatthat like that mirror and those paintings and all that stuffthat was all the little stuff. 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. Burke: Well, a good example is the one right here at the end of the street. A lot of these drapes, they did. Daller: Thats a story you should share, about the lilacs and the lady. People didnt want it because it had such a reputation as being haunted. I cant think ofdoesnt matter, the name of the people. Kitchens were always built in a house outside by themself, and a breezeway going to the house, because the kitchens would always burn down. And then when they decided thatthey owned a beautiful house on one of the Keys in Florida. So after a couple of years going back and forth, his daughter, she decided she wanted to get involved in it. Let the family know you are thinking of them, George W. Burke, age 63, of Hull, entered into eternal rest on October 2, 2021. All went into the landfill. I mean, its just normal living in a normal house. They cant do anything. Stony Brook. I found a beautiful place in Tottenville and I opened it and called it the Tidewater Inn. The house is haunted, she said, if youre interested in it, George, heres the key to the front door, you go. And as I said, there was a big flight of stairs that went up and a big porch across the whole front of the house. He said, when he was moving here, he told the people there, he goes, Im moving. Since 1981, the house has been occupied by a native Staten Islander named George Burke. Thats how I got to know Adriana Scalamandr and the Scalamandrs. And I said, Well, the smell is still there. And I said to her, Whatever happened to the old girl? And she said, Well, years ago, when she died, she said, she was laid out in the front parlor in the coffin, and it was nothing but lilacs. Would you sell me the acres in the front? 02045, followed by interment in Hull Village Cemetery. Of course, nothings there. But you do have Chris thats upstairs that lives in the servants quarters. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of George W. Burke . I was always in the operating room or someplace like that. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. See Photos. So, I dont know. And the whole big building used to be a big private home, and then they had made it into a restaurant. Daller: A lot of the paintings came from Europe, though. They bought a 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. Or was that brother Ed? Or is that real? That was real. Anyway, I said, Oh boy, did I have a scary dream. I told her my dream. Q: Your collection of the items that you bought from Mrs. Murphy. Loving son of Joan (Perry) Burke of Plymouth and the late George W. Burke. 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. Valley Stream. But I was glad that I got this. And he owned the funeral home. Family and friends are coming together online to create a special keepsake. Funeral arrangement under the care of Mc Namara Sparrell Funeral Services . So I found this big beautiful, French, mansard roof, big Victorian house in Tottenville. Then I was down in Florida for a while and Im wondering, Well, what in the hell am I going to do in Florida? What was I? I said, Oh shit, look at this. And I pulled that out and unwrapped it, and what the hell was in it? Posted Thursday, October 10, 2019 12:00 am. Some kind of jewelry. I had a dream thatin my dream, I woke up and I was laying in bed upstairs, and I could smell lilacs. 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.. Because back when they built the houses, kitchens were never built in the house. This the expensive piece of property! They sold it to the developers. They cant do anything. Its still there, the framework of it, with the brick. Oh, God, it was gorgeous. But I dont remember seeing the main house. The stables, everything has to remain the same. Q: Is there somebody in particular that you work with for reupholstery or restorations? The fact that the Seguine familythis was the farmhouse, their mansion was in Rossvilleand thats long gone. He was 63. There isnt a room he doesnt go into. If you haven't identified the high-style social by now, it's George Burke 's "White Party," the classic celebration staged in the Seguine-Burke Mansion, the Greek Revival-style,. And if you can capture and keep something that looks like this, then this is a big plus for the area. And in order to have food and such, youd have to bring it up the back stairs. She had to move them to New Jersey. Its no different from home. Big fluted columns with big Corinthian capitals on them. Daller: And when he wasnt doing that, he was horseback riding because he loved to ride and thats kind of segued himself to the Seguine House and to Bess. I mean, after it was finished, who cared? And not only that, we got a lot of manureI used to have it to put on all the gardens and to put on the fields and whatnot. My big old Victorian house is saved, and thats still there. Yun Fang Ma. And then when I went looking for myhis name was Joinerand everybody was saying, Well, Sergeant Joiner is leaving, Sergeant Joiner is leaving. And I never thought much of it. We were only allowed so much. This old? Q: [Laughs] Yes. Burke: Yes. And I took interior design and the history of architecture, and something else. Daller: Its life estate that he has. I mean, its physically impossible. Burke: She has it. Yes. What the woman who was caretaking her, what she had to do was constantly keep lilacs next to the bed. Daller: See, now you learned about kitchens. There was the main house, over here was the bar, over here was this big dining room, and this was the main house. FDNY firefighter Timmy Burke. Everything has to be environmentally done properly, so by the time you figure it out, youre spending more money, when youre making no money because you have no horses. You know, everybody knew him, and everybody, wow. Q: Well, tell me about getting started on this house. I bought those in Germany. He was an antiquehe had a big rug business in. Hell utilize every room of the house. So thank you. I want to go back and ask for some more details about your childhood. Isnt that a huge house theyre building, you told me? And that was the Air Force. But they tore the house down to build that school. Burke: I had a beautiful big old house in Tottenville that I loved. I went around and I got it and shipped it all back home. Soon, nobody had room in their house to store anymore of my stuff. Daller: At least the property itself, because when you stood outside, I mean, you couldnt see anything. Q: I wanted to ask, also, theres a painting of you in the house, right? Oneida County GenWeb Site includes death indexes, obituaries and cemetery listings Oneida County: Waterville Times Obituary Index . Also, surviving are her siblings Peggy . So she was always, Come on, George. Its Meissen. And thats where we are today. Im gonna save it, its a gorgeous house!. He was incurring all the expenses. Thanks to him, a piece of Staten Island history has been saved for future generations. He was in the Air Force. And thats what I did. 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. Christ, a good ten, twelve years. Q: Okay. Daller: If they cant ride, why should they be here? He was a 1968 graduate of Minersville Area High . This was all field, all the way up, and she used to turn the horses loose on all the fields out there. If you are going to stay, you better do this this and this, whatever the hell it was. So as long as I own it, I own it, theyll pay for it. And he come from a very, very wealthy family in Madrid. And I made a lot of money. And he said, Mom, Ill move in to the other part of the house. All Rights Reserved, Town Departments at Work: The role of each part of your local government. And as I said, for a thing of whiskey or a bottle of wine, theyd give you anything, because none of them have had it for years and years. Daller: Well, they hope to. Because the other way, my uncle was digging into whatever a little bit of savings he had, in order to pay. What were the things that you did when you were young? In good condition? But this is too much for you, George. Do you drink? No, we dont drink. So I would collect all the stamps. What a shame. The one owned by the steel companywas that a beautiful house! And I was the assistant to the general who was the surgeon for the European Command. But I had all this beautiful carved stuff. And my brother Bill and my brother Ed decided to go into an automobile repair shop. 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. Im going to get gifts now because Im staying in the house and Im going to fix it up.. Burke: Well, I hope it gets maintained. Burke: But what were we going into before I got into the architecture? And the post is still there and the staircase is still in good shapebut thats still in the house, now, down there. Put through the years, people recognized it and everything. Why cant they just appreciate something for what it is? Father Michael Martine has served since 2009 as pastor of St. Joseph's parish, Staten Island. And the house was really, needed shapebut thank God it was built as well is it was built, otherwise it would have fallen down. The walkway going to the beach, its still there, where the house was. Burke: Its right on the Boulevard and it goes down to the beach. I was seventeen years with the Air Force. Daller: Yes. Syosset. And on top of that, I still worked for Sherwin Williams. We all got coupons. in memory of George W. Burke, please visit our floral store. Find the obituary of George Burke (1957 - 2021) from Hull, MA. George Burke was born on Staten Island and grew up in Annandale before moving to Florida with his family. Q: Was that house that you restored in a similar condition as this house? Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. Tell us about your time in England.I went there at 19 and returned 12 years later. Unbelievable. Well. George was an engaged conversationalist and even better listener. Eric. So I said, whew! Q: So part of why it closed was because. Because I certainlyI never passed up a bargain. Burke: the Historic House people did give me a big bronze plaque to put on the front of it. I mean, look, theyve been trying to get rid of the carriage horses in the city, for how long 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. You want to have someone living in it, you cant have an empty house. And I finally got to meet Mrs. Seguine because she had stables at that time. Absolutely gorgeous. And he had helped meyou know, while I had my own ideas for design, and whatever I thought of, he said, George, thats great. Thats the only thing in the house left from the Seguines. And they were big floors. So if this can remain a part of the history, thatll be great for people to appreciate. And then when we realized we were broke, all my brothers joined the military, got married, moved away. And people were coming from all over the island. Each day inspires me that a house of this size and stature has survived and thrived.How did you come to purchase the house?I always admired it and I was well acquainted with Bess Seguine, a descendant of Joseph, the original owner of the home. Ticonderoga. The front porch was up high. So you really cant even try to say what does it feel like? I frequently told her how much I really longed to own the house. And I studied architecture and the history of design and everything, I know all that. You are to get out. Right? And they repaired all these taxis, repainted them, and then sold them all to Cuba. Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm MDT . When they shipped me back from where I was, where the Eskimos were, they sent me back to the base, because they were shipping everybody now, backafter your time was up, you had to go back because you couldnt stay any longer than two years, and after two years, you had to come back to the States. In my early twenties? A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 11 am in St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 208 Samoset Ave, Hull, MA. I could. Its a part of the history that should remain. I want it now. I could never get it. And I went in and I noticed my big box was gone. I mean, I had a beautiful condo in Florida. 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. Burke: And all the others like it, well, I can remember, on the other side of the pond over there, going alongthe mansions that were over there. So I went around and looked and looked and I said, You know, I could open a restaurant. And I walked around and I found a couple of nice places. And then of course, being in New York and being in the thing like that, I got to be very, very good friends, with Scalamandr. Daller: But he has albums upstairs, photos. And then one of my brothers had just gotten out of the military. Daller: Then you got rid of thatbut those are the early days. And they were going to pay for everything if they owned it. They were all along the waterfront here. Yes. We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. And he did these two chairs. Yes. John D. Burke, who was pastor emeritus of Holy Child parish on Staten Island, died Sept. 23. Victor. So its a shame. And is there a way where, according to how you would like the house to be maintainedwould everything stay in its place? Burke: Oh, God, Mario come out here all the time. He was born in Bay County, FL on June 30, 1936, to the late Ernest and . And I went to Hammersmith College. Troy. Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. Q: And so, what sort of vision do you have for, you know, the next the next forty years, for how the grounds are maintained and how. Im offered fortunes for the front field, for the side field, for the backfield. And so I had all that stuff in my apartment. That was the mansion. Oh god, that was a gorgeous mansion. And, of course, being in the military and traveling with them, the government shipped all my stuff that I bought and picked upshipped it all back to America for me. Of course, I went to school here. Daller: Yes, definitely. A brooch that I gave Bess? So its saved forever. Because Mrs. Seguine was holding the. Lets stay friends. Q: Was that here in the house? That house, it was a big French mansard, big Victorian. And over the years, it became just prohibitive to try and do. Daller: No, I dont. Im only a salesman in a department store. I said, and its going to take a lot of money to put that house back together. She said, Well, Im going to help you all I can. And I said, But why would I fix a house I didnt own? And she said, Well, why dont we talk about that. She said, If youre interested in buying it, I will make the arrangements that you can own it. And then, where they built the schoolwhat is that girls school up here? What is a shame is some of the mansionsthe really, really ornate mansions that were torn down. Burke: Chris will stay living here. New York obituaries and death notices, 1986 to rent. I said, Gee, look at these chairs. And they said, Yes, look at them. But I had all that money! [laughs]. I dont know what it is. I bought the house and Bess and Marge came over. And I never got along with her that much because everything I wanted to do, she said, No, no, no, I dont like that. Read more about the life story of George and share your memory. 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