[1][2] Late in life Livernash adopted the French form of the family name, de Nivernais, by decree of court.

[1] In 1897, Livernash was sent to the Klondike region of Canada as part of an Examiner expedition investigating the Gold Rush that had begun a year prior.

[6] On September 26, 1891, Livernash was arrested for public indecency at the San Francisco Ferry Building after a police sergeant discovered him wearing drag and blackface.

When he was taken to the police station, officers discovered several toxic chemicals, including chloroform and prussic acid, in his bag.

[7] Just one month later, on October 29, Livernash was again arrested in Cloverdale after he shot 71-year-old Darius Ethridge four times in the face with a pair of revolvers.

[8] Livernash was committed to the Napa State Hospital, where he was held in custody until the murder trial opened a year later.

[8] While Livernash's motives and the extent of his insanity remain unclear, one theory put forward suggests he was seeking to recoup an earlier loss.

Two weeks before the crossdressing incident, the office of the Livermore Herald (a newspaper Livernash had recently acquired) burned down.

[14] He became the managing editor of the Rocky Mountain News in 1906,[1] but resigned after only thirteen weeks after coming under criticism from Senator Thomas M. Patterson for an editorial published in December 1906.