João Teixeira Soares de Sousa

João Teixeira Soares de Sousa (Manadas, September 12 de 1827 - Ponta Delgada, February 1, 1875), in general cited as Dr. João Teixeira Soares was an Azorean politician and an investigagor of Azorean history and anthropology, he was deputy of the islands of São Jorge, Graciosa and author of numerous publications on the history of the island of São Jorge and on themes and pop culture, including numerous proverbs and traditional poems.

Biography

O Dr. João Teixeira Soares was born in Terreiros in the parish of Manadas, municipality of Velas, his father was Miguel Teixeira Soares de Sousa, his mother was Maria Angélica Soares de Albergaria, his family were wine and orange farmers.

In October 1849, he was matriculated to the University of Coimbra in Portugal and obtained the Bachelor of Mathematics in 1853 and Philosophy in 1854. He had initiated in the course of medicine in 1852, he left the university after he was graduated.

In 1854, he returned to the Azores Islands in São Jorge where he assumed the direction of familiar negotiations, and

In the elections that took place in 1864, he was elected deputy for the circular novel of S. Jorge and Graciosa, he headed for Lisbon in his final years. He lived in the Lisbon where he studied on historical documents of his native island, particularly on Archive on the Torre do Tombo. This work resulted in transcription of numerous documents and in location of others which he used in his articles on local history.

He met Teófilo Braga recollected numerous proverbs and popular poems, not the pioneering work where he recollected the songs from São Jorge island, made himself into several main collaborators of the work "Cantos Populares do Archipelago Açorian" ("Popular Songs From The Azorean Archipelago") by Teófilo Braga which was edited in 1876

He approved the proliferation in the occurred time in the island, created diversed journals in São Jorge, he also published numerous historic and ethnografic studies.

He died at the age of 54 in the island of São Miguel.