Sir Ernest Joseph Soares (20 October 1864 – 15 March 1926), of 36 Princes Gate, London, and of
Upcott House in the parish of
Pilton, near
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
in North Devon, was a British solicitor and
Liberal politician.
Origins
Soares was the son of José Luís Xavier Soares, a
Liverpool merchant of Indian origin tracing his roots to
Ucassaim,
Goa in
Portuguese India
The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...
and Hannah Hollingsworth of Liverpool.
Prior to conversion to
Christianity the family were
Gaud Saraswat Brahmin
Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd) are a Hindu Brahmin community of the north. The Konkani speaking Gaud Saraswat of Goa and southern India claim to be descendents of these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of the north that migrated to ...
s with the surname Gaitonde.
Career
He was educated at
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
, where he read law. He was a partner in Allen, Prestage and Soares, solicitors, of
Manchester. In 1900 he was elected to the
House of Commons for
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
, and rented Upcott House, where he was resident in 1901, a large white stucco Georgian mansion one mile from the centre of Barnstaple and a prominent landmark for the voters and inhabitants of that town, from
Sir William Robert Williams, 3rd Baronet of nearby
Heanton Court. He served in the
Liberal administration of
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
as a
Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1910 to 1911. The latter year failing health forced him to resign this post and his seat in the House of Commons. He was knighted the same year.
Marriage and children
When Soares was working as a solicitor in Manchester and residing at ''Woodheys'', on Washway Road, in
Ashton upon Mersey (today
Sale), he married Kate Carolyn Lord (1864-1932), daughter of his then near-neighbour
Samuel Lord (1803-1889), the British-born American retail millionaire and founder of
Lord & Taylor today the oldest luxury department store in the United States. Lord was born in
Saddleworth,
West Riding of Yorkshire, and emigrated to America in about 1821. Having retired from managing his retail empire, in 1866 he returned to England and resided at ''Oakleigh'', on ''The Avenue'' in
Ashton upon Mersey. Lord left nine million dollars (£1.848 million) at his death. By his wife Soares had one daughter and only child:
*Kate Rose Mary Soares (b. 1894), who married Captain
Walter Bell (1880–1954),
MC,
[Western Times newspaper, Devon, 2 Mar 1917] known as ''Karamojo Bell'', the Scottish adventurer and African
big game hunter.
Death
He died in
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
, London, in March 1926, at the age of 61.
References
*
Biography of Sir Ernest Soares at The Luso Pages* Profiles of Eminent Goans, Past and Present; Clement J Vaz; published 1997; pg 262.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soares, Ernest
1864 births
1926 deaths
UK MPs 1900–1906
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Knights Bachelor
British politicians of Indian descent
English people of Indian descent
British people of Goan descent
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Barnstaple