[2] He was baptised in 1802 in London and presented to the church in 1803 in Saint Helier, Jersey,[3] the son of William Henry Souper and Amelia Ann; his mother was the daughter of Philip Reinagle.

[16] An 1834, report on the drive to reduce sinecures shows Souper taking on the dual roles of Secretary and Clerk of the council.

[17] There were in fact three defined official roles, Secretary, Clerk and Register (or court intendant, often called escribando, a term inherited from the Spanish colonial time in Trinidad).

[21][22] An anonymous pamphlet by "A Free Mulatto" of 1824 accused Souper of acting in a bigoted way towards a man of colour who had served in the militia, around 1820.

It records alleged slurs (including the denial of the title Mr. on a passport, and on the competence of the previous Secretary Peter Gellineau).

Earl Bathurst, published in London, dealt with grievances specific to the "coloured population of Trinidad", understood free.

[24] In particular it dismissed an argument against setting a precedent for the recognition of people of colour, in relation to a "Dr. Philip" requesting a position from Woodward as military surgeon.

[25] A related complaint about the council, in which Souper as Clerk was named, was that of George Pilkington, civil engineer on Trinidad and future abolitionist campaigner, from 1830.

In autobiographical work he alleged that the council had acted wrongly against him on a financial matter, after he had promoted a person of colour to officer rank in the militia cavalry.

[27] He took part in the 1830 public meeting hosted by Robert Neilson that appointed Joseph Marryat to represent West Indian planter interests.

Philip and Oriana had a large family: Frances Lloyd, one of twin daughters, died on 28 November 1839 at Eastcott, near Harrow, at age 2.