Edward James Livernash, subsequently Edward James de Nivernais (February 14, 1866 – June 1, 1938), was an American newspaperman and lawyer who served one term as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

representing the fourth congressional district of California from 1903 to 1905. Late in life Livernash adopted the French form of the family name, de Nivernais, by decree of court.

Biography

Livernash was born in Lower Calaveritas, a California mining camp near San Andreas, to an Irish mother and a father of

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

descent, and attended the common schools of California. He became a printer at the age of fifteen, and a year later founded a country newspaper at Cloverdale, California. He studied law in preparation for journalism, and in 1887 was admitted to the California bar. In 1891, he joined the staff of the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' and held various editorial posts there. In 1897 Livernash was sent by the Klondike miners as commissioner to the

Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...

to urge a modification of onerous laws. in 1904, Livernash ran for Congress to represent

California's 4th congressional district California's 4th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Tom McClintock, a Republican, has represented the district since January 2009. Currently, the 4th district encompasses the Sierras from Truckee to the Se ...

( San Francisco) in the Fifty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905) on a Democratic and Union Labor ticket. The dual nomination was unusual, and under then-prevailing California law, Livernash was required to choose which nomination would appear on the ballot; however, in October 1902 the California Supreme Court held that the provision limiting the ballot entry to a single nomination was not valid, and allowed both designations to appear. Livernash's opponents in the election were the incumbent, Republican

Julius Kahn Julius Kahn may refer to: *Julius Kahn (inventor) (1874–1942), engineer of reinforced concrete *Julius Kahn (congressman) Julius Kahn (February 28, 1861 – December 18, 1924) was a United States Congressman who was succeeded by his wife ...

; Socialist Party candidate William Costly; and

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

candidate Joseph Rowell. Livernash received 16,146 (49.17%) of the votes cast, compared to 16,005 (48.74%) cast for Kahn, with Costly and Rowell picking up the remaining 2.09%. Kahn contested the election, charging that many of the votes in Livernash's plurality were illegally cast, but the election was upheld. Livernash served only one term, losing his reelection bid to Kahn in 1904.

Later career and death

He became the managing editor of the Rocky Mountain News in 1906, but resigned after only thirteen weeks after coming under criticism from

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Thomas M. Patterson for an editorial published in December 1906. Livernash resided in France from 1909 to 1912, when he returned to the United States and settled near Belmont, California. He engaged in study and literary pursuits. Livernash died in Agnew, California on June 1, 1938. His remains were cremated at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Livernash, Edward James 1866 births 1938 deaths 19th-century American journalists 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American politicians American newspaper journalists American expatriates in France American people of French-Canadian descent American people of Irish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California San Francisco Examiner people People of the Klondike Gold Rush People from Cloverdale, California People from Belmont, California Politicians from San Francisco