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M-340 J. H. TANNER Box 1-1 Autograph of King Kalakaua given to a young femalesinger, January 12, 1881 Inventoryof Records of the Papers of C. Nils(Cyrus Nils) Tavares March, 2006 Hawai'i State Archives 'lolani Palace Grounds Honolulu. Hawai'i 96813 THE PAPERS OF C. NILS (CYRUS NILS) TAVARES (b. 1902, d 1976) Table of Contents Series M-491: Papers of C. Nils (Cyrus Nils) Tavares Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. u,ili Introduction ..................................................................................................................................1 BiographicalSketch ................................................................................................................... 2 Historical/BiographicalChronology .................... ................................................................. 4 Scope and Content Note .......................................................................................................... 7 Series Descriptions I. Appointment Books (various).. ............................................................... 8 ContainerList .............................................................................. C-1 II. Correspondence: 1923-1976 ...................................................................... 8 Container List................................................................. C-2 to C,7 111. Biographical Information: 1926-1976 .................................................... 9 Container Llst................................................................. C,·8 to C-9 IV. Attorney Files:1925-1927; 1939; 1959 ................................................... 9 Container List................... ............................................ C,9 to C,10 V. AttorneyGeneral Files: 1944-1947 ........................................................ 9 Container List ............................................................................ C-10 VI. HawaiiStatehood Commission: 1947-1958, 1968 ............................. 9 Container List. ............................................................. C-10 to C-12 VII. ConstitutionalConvention: 1950 ......................................................... 10 ContainerList . ............................................................. C,12 to C-16 VIII. U.S. District CourtJudge: 1961,1976 ................................................... 10 Container List ............................................................. C-16 to C,20 IX. Speeches: 1932-1974 ................................................................................... 10 Container List ............................................................ C-20 to C-22 X. Membershipsand Associations: 1922-1976 ....................................... ll Container List............................................................ C,22 to C-23 ii THE PAPERS OF C. NILS (CYRUS NILS} TAVARES (b. 1902, d. 1976) Table of Contents Series M-491: Papers of C. Nils (Cyrus Nils) Tavares XI. Death: 1976 ..................................................................................................... ll Container List................................... .........................................C ,24 XII. Personal Effects and Artifacts: 1920, 1976 .......................................... ll Container List........ .................................................... C,24 to C�30 XIII. Correspondence: 1941, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1957, 1959 ....................... 12 ContainerList ....... ..................................................................... C�30 iii Papers of C. Nils (Cyrus Nils)Tavares (b. 1902, d. 1976) Introduction The papers of C. Nils Tavares, attorney, public servant, and District Court Judge of the United States District Court forthe District of Hawaii, were presented to the Hawaii State Archives as a gift by his daughter Shirley Ann Tavares Wetzel in 1993. Physical custody of the papers is assumed to have been uninterrupted after Judge Tavares' death in 1976, the majority of the documents being found in his residence where his wife, Mrs. Unita Thelma Gillet Tavares, continued to live until her death in March,1993. Another set of papers was accessioned by the Hawaii State Archives in 1999. Composed primarily of correspondence of the 1950s pertaining to statehood issues, these records were given by the U.S. District Court Library and taken by the University of Hawaii, School of Law. In 1979, the Law School transferred the recordsto the University of Hawaii,Hamilton Library. In 1999, the Hamilton Library transferred the records to the Hawaii State Archives. Although these records have been added to the collection, they have not been interfiled with the other records received fromMs. Wetzel. Access to thismanuscript collection is unrestricted with the exception of materialcontaining personal/financial information, and attorney;client and attorney work product files. They are restricted by Hawaii Revised Starutes (HRS) §§92F,13, and 92F�l4 and Office of Information Practices ("OIP") opinion letter 03-19. The restrictionsare removed by HRS §94-7, effective on differentdates as marked on the Records Container List. See reference archivist for assistance. Information RestrictionAuthority. Restriction Liftedby HRS§94-7 PersonalHealth Information HRS §§92F-I3, 92F-14 and OIP 80 years aftercreation of Letter No. 03-19 (Dec.16, 2003) record Personal financialinformation HRS §§92F-I3 and 92F-14, and 80 years after creation of OIP Letter No. 03;19 (Dec.16, record 2003) Personal/family litigation and HRS §§92F-I3 and 92F-14 80 years after creation of information record Attorney-clientand attorney HRS §626, Rule 503 and OIP 80 years after creationof work;product files Letter No. 03-19 (Dec.16, 2003) record Personal and educational HRS §§92F;I3 and 92F-14 and 80 years after creation of informationfor grandson Reef OIP Letter No. 03-19 (Dec.16, record Hardy 2003) l Papers ofC. Nils(Cyrus Nils)Tavares (b. 1902, d. 1976) Biographicalsketch 1 The HonorableJudge C. NilsT avares was bornin Pukalani, Maui, on April12, 1902. His father, Antone F. Tavares, was also a prominent figure in Hawaii: a business man, a Representative to the Territorial Legislaturefrom 1910 �1920, and a TerritorialSenator from1920,19 28. Judge Tavares' personal life and professional career touched upon and shaped the State of Hawaii in its transition before and after 1959. When Judge Tavares resigned as Attorney General in 1947, Territorial GovernorIngram M. Stainback stated: I venture to say that more history has been made during the last five years than at any time since theannexation of the Territory, and Judge Tavares has played no small part in the making of this history. Governor Stainback could not have conceived of the continuingrole Judge Tavares would play in the years after 1947. Indeed, _at the memorial service in 1976, Chief Justice William H. Richardson calledJudge Tavares one of Hawaii's "foundingfathers". Cyrus NilsTavares attended and graduated from Maui HighSchool, class of 1920, matriculating to the University of Michigan. In 1925, he graduatedfrom the University of Michiganwith a degree in law and earning entry into theOrder of the Coifby graduating in the top 10% of hisclass. He was alsoan editor of the Michigan Bar Review. After graduation, he returned to Maui, where he was appointed Deputy District Magistrate,a positionin which he servedfrom 1925 to 1927. In 1927, he relocated himself and wife to Honolulu. He was appointed as a deputy attorney general under the Attorney General William Lyman, and while in that office he met future Attorney General Harry R. Hewitt. Judge Tavares continued to work as a deputy attorney general until 1934, when he formed a partnershipwith his boss Mr. Hewitt, and began private practiceas Hewitt &:Tavares. Their parmership would last until1940. His professional relatio11shipto the Archives is tangentialbut happilycoincidental. In 1935, the librarian of the Archives of Hawaii, Ms. Maude Jones, a republican, was abruptly and, as had been alleged, due to a politicalchange in the administration,removed fromher position. From 1935 to 1937, Judge Tavares represented Ms. Jones in a lawsuit seeking her reinstatement. In 1937, Ms.Jones regainedher position. From 1940 to 1942,Judge Tavares worked in private practice,later acceptingan appointment to serveas a Special Deputy TerritorialAttorney Gene ral forWar Emergency Matters from1941 to 1942. He continued working as an Assistant Attorney General from 1942 to 1943. In 1944, Governor Ingram Stainback appointed him Attorney General, a position he held until resignationin 1947. 1 By convention, throughout this document C. Nils Tavares will be referred to as �Judge" even though this biographicalsketch includes eventsbefore his appointment to the bench in 1960. Papers of C. Nils (CyrusNils) Tavares (b. 1902, d. 1976) When Judge Tavares leftgovernment work, his future law partners C. Dudley Pratt and Charles E. Cassidy, welcomed him. They renamed their law firmPratt, Tavares & Cassidy, where he would work until1960. The firmis now known as Case Bigdow& Lombardi. In 1950,Judge Tavares was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention,serving as a subcommittee chair for the Judiciary committee, and as an integral part on several other committees including the Style committee which was responsible for the document's overall format and integrity. Throughout,JudgeTavares zealously advocated forStatehood. In his own