So she was always, Come on, George. And they were the big windows that lookedand that was a whole, bigjust like here, it was another story. George Burke. 06/26/1943 - 02/20/2023. And then he got married and moved in with his wife. He was from Central America somewhere, and he just believed in everything had to be right. Burke: He did almost all the upholstery in the house. 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. But what was really, really bad was people, if they were going to build a garage, or they were going to build something, theyd go to that big, beautiful mansion and rip the siding off of it and take it back to build what they want to build. And my other sisternow, of course shes passed awaybut now her daughter took it, and the daughter gave it to her daughter. Daller: You met some interesting people there. 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. 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. Im gonna go look. 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. People: Mario Buatta, Luis Caizares, Linda Daller, John Krawchuck, James and Kathleen Pistilli, Adriana Scalamandr, John Scalia, Elizabeth Bess Seguine Aug, Joseph Seguine, Organizations: Friends of the Seguine Mansion, Historic House Trust, House of Scalamandr, NYC Departments of Parks and Recreation, Sherwin-Williams, U.S. Air Force, Places: Annandale, Hammersmith College, Port Richmond, Old Bermuda Inn, Saks Fifth Avenue, Seguine Mansion, St. George, Staten Island, Tidewater Inn, Tottenville, The New York Preservation Archive Project. I slept in it, lived in it, ate in it. Q: And did you keep records of the restoration process? I was born on Oct. 11, 1930, one of nine siblings, to an. Because the other way, my uncle was digging into whatever a little bit of savings he had, in order to pay. But I mean, that wasthe holes, the plaster gone. It was so overgrown in the front yard and everything. I cant remember her name. And one day. And he dealed in antique rugs, and regular rugs and everything. So I figured, oh, shit. 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. I had the house put back together. It was under your bunk. Thats the only thing in the house left from the Seguines. A necklace with a gold heart that opened like a. And were doing this interview in Burkes home, in the Seguine Mansion on the South Shore of Staten Island. But what she did is she sold off parcel after parcel in order for her to live here in the house because she had no income. It wasnt fair to him to keep paying for it. You could ask for their house and youd get it. I mean, you talked about it, when you were a kid, that it was this big house that you would see when you were out on, Daller: Its a part of the history of Staten Island. And then the people that moved out left a bunch of old furniture, and these were the two that they left. And he was stationed here, in St. George, and he would come home and wed live in the house. Thats not good. The same thing thats going on with statues. Id come back up and I could still smell it in the hallway. You couldnt see the grounds through the trees and it was just covered and everything. Now theyre worth a couple hundred-dollars apiece. But when he was in Europe, he rode. Of course, when I bought the house, that was all weeds growing up among the bricks. Burke: Yes, I had to go down in the basement, and put a post, and then I had to jack up the stairs. And they were good investments. And in the basement, I put the kitchen and a dining area and everything. So, unfortunately, there arent many people that care that way anymore. Yes. And hes the one that did my portrait upstairs. Im sure some will. And he come from a very, very wealthy family in Madrid. And I never got along with her that much because everything I wanted to do, she said, No, no, no, I dont like that. Its empty. Daller: Oh, yes. And right there in front of the windows was a coffin with all the flowers around it and everything. 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. Well, he lived on Staten Island. George Memon's passing on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 has been publicly announced by Martin Hughes Funeral Home in Staten Island, NY. Burke: Well, most of the stuff in the house, he worked with me. But they did a lot for me. And that was it. 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. Those stables? Daller: Well, they hope to. They cant do anything. So thats where I got most of the stuff thats here in the house today. And the porch went all like this, around the house. He was incurring all the expenses. And I gave that, I thinkI dont know if I gave it to Bess. I took forty-four big trees down in the front field just so you could clear the front and see the house. I was always in the operating room or someplace like that. He upholstered that chair with the things in the back. It was unbelievably gorgeous. Yes, the dining room and the kitchen was on the other two, side. 6389 Amboy Road. Were not going to stay and put up with these two people. Finally, I think his wife got sick with that lung disease, didnt she? All went into the landfill. Im no bulldozer!. That was a shame. I had all the walls done. Q: Yes. That is the only thing that worries methat the house will be stripped. And I was in the medical department, worked in the operating room. I had the best collection of the most beautiful carved ivory and things because they didnt have money but they would give you things. Burke: You want it from the first day I was born in the hospital across the street? Burke: Of course, I come from a big house. I had no idea that that was it, when I bought the house or anything. 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. See Photos. Isnt that a huge house theyre building, you told me? Its going to hell. Daller: But it was the thing with the lilacs smell. And now theyre buildingI havent seen it, but Linda says its a huge house theyre building. And I only have so much money being what I am. So he said, Dont worry about it. In fact, her husband was a big-wig. Obituary: George W. Burke October 07, 2021 George W. Burke, 63 George W. Burke, of Hull, died on Oct. 2. That was Mrs., what was her name? Burke - 1 - 2 and grew up 90% of my time on Staten Island until I became old enough and I joined the military. I mean, this was just a farmhouse. Funeral homes; Help and . 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. Theyre very few. My mother and his wife never got along too well. Burke: I dont find any difference living here. I have no idea what it would be like to live in some other place. And one day I got a call from Mrs. Seguine. That came in part from the attorney. Beloved husband of Rosanna (Ialuna) Burke. So when he left the apartment and came to Staten Island, things started to move back into different sisters again until he was ready to relocate it again. Q: Yes, you can tell me about your early life and the memories you have of growing up here. Copyright 1998 2023 New York Preservation Archive Project. If you lived in Alaska, where it was always cold, it was fine. With that old fabric, theres enough to make drapes for one window. And thats where I had all this wonderful carved stuff from the Eskimos that they gave me. And I didnt realize it because I was always working. They were the Mackeys. 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? Good God! So I went up with Father Tom and I had to take care of all those Eskimos, if any of them got sick or hurt this or that. Its a plus for the borough too. She was a very good friend of mine, a really pretty lady. What a damn dream, there she was, laying in her coffin there, with her finger at me. And Luis was really, really a great guy. I bought those in Germany. Theyre deciding they want to build, so they tear down and build. I went over there, and it was standing up sleeping! What the hell do you think it was? So after a couple of years going back and forth, his daughter, she decided she wanted to get involved in it. Burke: Well, Ill tell you, there wasnt that much in storagethe stuff that was in storage wasnt big pieces, maybe one or two. The mayor and everybody else in the cityyou cant ride on the beach. They were all six floor walkups and, thats where you lived! The Seguine nestled in the back of his mind, Burke joined the Air Force and moved to London when he was 19. I have questions about closets too! So I stayed there, worked for him for years. 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. And I, throughout the time, I went from room to room in the house and restored it. But they are the ones thatup in arms, saying, Aww, that poor horse. If you dont want to come dont show up. And he said since hes been here, he has nobody here. They cant develop it. And the basement was beautiful, where you can walk out onto the porch and out into the garden. So they went into repairing things. And I was so damn busy, I never got to go home. The front porch was up high. Everybody had left, and Bess and Marge were there, and Bess said to me, George, sit down. Too bad that there wasnt somebody with a brain. Its still there. I had all the plasters done. Oh, God, I worked so damn hard. Then there was the main hall that went through, just like this: door, front door, back door. It makes sense because she was an old lady. I could make another funeral parlor out of that. And I said, No, lets not make a funeral parlor. I dont know if it ever took off. So thats how that all came about. So I got this on the front porch somewhere, nailed to the house, butdoesnt matter. I mean, its physically impossible. 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. And I said, Was that a dream? Burke: Scalia. Ill help renovate it, fix it up and such. And thats what we did. Daller: Yes. But I still have a lot of it. Q: Can you give me an example of one of the things that you worked on together in the house? That whole salon set there was a Victorian salon setand the couch is a camelback. So we lived there, and it was a big courtyard and there were four buildings and the center courtyard was all grass. Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. The one in particular, United States Steel [Corporation]. It doesnt happen on the North Shore because were very condensed and its a dense population. You know, he just passed away. 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. Formal gardens, stablesstables that you could live in. I think so. So its saved forever. Well work it out, one way or another. And so the two of us started and we madecalled it the Old Bermuda Inn because John loved Bermuda and he was putting a lot of money in it. You just named them. And, well, lets face it, they never had any hot water over there at all. Absolutely gorgeous. So my mother decided she would make it into a two-family, and rent out one part of it. Daller: Well, remember how much it took to paint the whole house, and how you had to paint sections of it? Daller: And that house was beautiful. But I dreamt it and I knew every single thing about it. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Staten Island, New York on facebook. You said you started with the basement. That was the mansion. And I took that for years. And then I decided Id get involved again with things that are going on. And Im glad I did what I did, about just giving it to the National Historic Trust. Hes the man that built the house. And they said, Oh my god, George, what are you Oh, and who else was that? That was the most beautiful mansion. They really dont know what history is all about. On a goddamn pillared mattress sleeping? In fact, I think it was just landmarked wasnt it? The stables, everything has to remain the same. Find the obituary of William Burke (1966 - 2021) from Staten Island, NY. And in the summer, he sits outside, enjoys the outdoors, enjoys the lawn, the grounds. 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. Daller: No, that still has to be discussed. I did everything. Im going to retire, Im going to go down to that big old house, restore it, fix it all up, move in it, and enjoy it. So it shows you that you have a friend forever. Q: And you feel that thats at risk because of the development thats happening now. But they donated it to the Sisters of Charity, figuring that the nuns could live in that gorgeous mansion. They bought a house. So she said, Bess said, Were going to have to quit, George. I said Oh, shit. 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