Son of Benjamin and Drucilla Burke.
After the death of his Father Benjamin, Andrew moved to VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI where he was employed in a Mercantile Store. November, 1832, the merchant sent Andrew to Amsterdam(a small community near Vicksburg).

In 1837, Andrew moved to ST. AUGUSTINE, TEXAS In September 26 of 1837, Andrew married Eloise Lusk. They were the parents of 13 children.

Moved to Houston,Texas November 1837.

In 1838 Opened a Mercantile Store which was located on Main Street between Preston Street & Congress Avenue.

He was at one time a member of the board of directors of the Houston & Texas Central Railway. He was twice elected and served as a member of the county commissioners court and was for one term mayor of Houston(1879).

He became a Mason in 1844 and was one of the oldest members of the fraternity in Texas.

BURKE, ANDREW J.
About the beginning of the present century, probably in the year 1805, Benjamin and Drucilla Burke left their native place in Fairfield district, South Carolina, and, joining the tide of immigration then pouring through the mountain passes of western North Carolina, settled near the present town of Elkton, on Elk river, in what is now Giles county, middle Tennessee. There, on the l0th of October, 1813, Andrew J., their seventh child, and the subject of this brief sketch, was born. His boyhood and youth until he was seventeen, were passed on his father's primitive patch in the wilderness and along the streams and in the forests of his native place. His educational advantages were very limited, and opportunities for learning much of the outside world were more so. The death of his father, in 1830, threw him, in a measure, upon his own resources, and, having determined on seeking a more promising place in which to make his start in the world, he secured letters of introduction from gentlemen of good standing where he lived, and started to the lower Mississippi country. Vicksburg was his objective point, and there he made his first stop. After several days of vain effort to secure employment in that place, he was sitting one day, about the noon hour, near a store, when he saw the owner come out and lock the door, to go to dinner. It occurred to young Burke that a business should be open during business hours, and that that merchant needed a boy. He went to the merchant, on his return from dinner, and told him frankly his condition, and offered to enter the merchant's employ, to do anything that needed to be done about the store or house. His character having been vouched for by a Presbyterian minister, to whom young Burke had brought a letter of introduction, he was engaged, the merchant agreeing to pay him $100 a year and expenses. This was January 1, 1832. In November following, Vicksburg was visited for the first time by the cholera. Business was suspended, and most of the inhabitants abandoned the place. Under an arrangement with his employer, young Burke took a small stock of goods and went out to a town called Amsterdam, twenty miles from Vicksburg, where he opened a store, his wages having been increased to $300 a year and expenses. He remained there in charge of that business for nearly two years, when, having saved his earnings and established somewhat of a personal credit, he started a store of his own. He conducted this for a period of two years, and met with marked success. Having about that time heard a great deal concerning Texas, he concluded to try his fortunes in the then recently established Republic, and, in the spring of 1837, closed out his interests at Amsterdam, and came to San Augustine. Finding that the country suited him, he shortly afterward married and decided to settle here. The town of Houston had but recently been laid out, and selected as the seat of government of the Republic, and hither he came in search of a location. The exact time of his first visit to Houston was November, 1837, and from that time he dates his residence here. He became one of the early merchants of the town, opening a store, in the spring of 1838, in a small building on the south side of Main street, about midway of the block between Preston and Congress avenues. He kept a general store, and, from a small beginning, came in time to do a large and successful business. That being before the era of railroads in Texas, and at a time when Houston was the distributing point for all of interor Texas, the merchants of this place did a large jobbing business, as well as a good local retail trade. "Times were good," and Mr. Burke, in common with others, prospered. For forty years he was in active business, and, during that time, sold many thousands of dollars' worth of goods. Most of the time he was alone, but had two or three partnerships, the longest of which was with the late B. A. Shepherd, with whom he was associated pleasantly and profitably for a number of years. Mr. Burke withdrew from business about 1876, since which time he has lived mainly in retirement. He has never cared for public life, and, in fact, has rather shunned it, but during his active years he interested himself in matters of a local nature, and subscribed, in accordance with his means, to enterprises looking to the advancement of the welfare of the city of Houston. He was at one time a member of the board of directors of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, and lent that enterprise substantial aid when it was one of Houston's "infant industries." He also served two terms as County Commissioner, and one term as Mayor of the city. Mr. Burke has been a life-long Democrat, as was also his father, whose admiration for General Jackson, one of the fathers of Democracy, prompted him to name his son for that popular hero. In religion, the family were Methodists, but, abandoning that faith, if indeed he may be said ever to have been a follower of it, he, early in life, united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he has since been an active and consistent member. He was made a Mason in 1844, and must, therefore, be one of the oldest in the State. He is a strong believer in the teachings and practices of Masonry, but has not, especially in recent years, been active in the order.
Mr. Burke's marriage occurred in Shelby county, Texas, on the 26th of September, 1837, when he wedded Miss Eloise Lusk, daughter of George V. Lusk, who had moved to Texas the year previous. Mrs. Burke was born in Pickens county, Alabama, where she was also reared. She died February 18, 1886. Thirteen children were born to them, only three of whom are now living. Five died in infancy, and five after reaching maturity. The deceased are Andrew J., Jr., who died May 5, 1880, at the age of thirty-eight, leaving a family; Matilda J., wife of E.H. Gushing, died May 12, 1881; Mary, wife of Bell Copes, died August 10, 1864; Horace T., who died March 20, 1890; and Fannie, wife of N.A. Blake, who died January 19, 1882. The living are Frank S., an attorney of Houston; Edmund L., a railway conductor; and Annette, wife of George R. Bringhurst, of Houston.
Although past his eightieth year, Mr. Burke is still vigorous in mind and body, being remarkably well preserved for one of his age. He has led an active life, but has husbanded his strength by temperate habits and a faithful observance of the laws of nature. He is now one of Houston's oldest, and, as he has always been, one of her most highly respected citizens. (Source: History of Texas Biographical History of the Cities of Houston and Galveston (1895)
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)