Here there be Souzas, and a dog of whom passersby are cautioned — by signs at either end of the house — to beware. Pleasant Street was once full of Souzas, which is not much more remarkable in Provincetown than saying that there were a lot of people named Smith. But this house and 38 Pleasant Street are the real bulwarks. Frank P. Souza Sr. (b ±1895), a fisherman, and his wife, Elsie M. Souza (b ±1902), bought the property in 1929 from John J. and Minnie R. Silva. Their son William H. Souza (1924-1986) was a seaman (first class) aboard the battleship New York, which saw especially intense duty in the summer of 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, one of the deadliest encounters in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Not long after William returned, in 1947, he married Ann Leola Johnson (1930-2012) and went to work first as a fish cutter, then as a fisherman. In time, he owned his own boat, the Raider II. Their son Ronald Souza (b 1956) followed his father into fishing, but is now a flooring contractor. He lives here with his wife, Deborah M. Souza (b 1959). • Map • Assessor’s Online Database ¶ Posted 2013-07-05
