Descendent of Livermore founder visits area

By Kenneth Jessen
North Forty News

In 1863, 16-year-old Adolphus Livernash, along with Stephen Moore, constructed a single-room cabin on the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River. They trapped beaver and searched the area for minerals. The men filed homestead claims and combined their names, calling the place Livermore. Neither remained long, but left a historical bookmark on the land.

A few years later, the town of Livermore was platted. Adolphus moved to LaPorte and married. From there, he moved to Caribou and was successful in mining, but he was killed by lightening in 1883. His body rests in Boulder's Columbia Cemetery.

Jumping ahead almost a century and a half, Craig Livernash was searching the web at his Wisconsin home for more information on the origin of Livermore. He realized that he had a family connection with the town, and he found the web site for the Livermore Woman's Club.

Club member Linda Adams asked if he was a descendant of Adolphus and recited what little was known about the founding of Livermore. Livernash, with a passion for his own genealogy, replied that Adolphus was his great, great, great-grandfather's brother, and he had traced his family origins back to France in 1684. He also discovered that the patriarch's original name was Yvernage, which became Livernoche, then Livernash.

Livernash accepted an invitation to speak at the June 17 annual dinner for the Friends of the Red Feather Lakes Library. During his stay in the area, he saw various sites, including a likely location for the Livernash-Moore cabin on the bank of the North Fork.

Livernash came with his wife, Jenny, and their two children, Allie and Aaron, then was joined by his sister, Christine Livernash Jackson. He gave his talk to a packed crowd and presented a framed poster made by his cousin Steve, a graphic artist. The poster includes a brief history of Livermore and will be placed in the Livermore Community Hall. In addition, his talk was put into the form of a paper titled "Livermore–The History of Adolphus Livernash."

Also through the web site, Robert Livernash and Stephen Livernash independently contacted the Livermore Woman's Club. For the first time, Craig was put in contact with these relatives.

For more information on the history of Livermore, read the updated "Among These Hills." Copies are available from the Livermore Woman's Club, P.O. Box 3, Livermore CO 80536. If the book is picked up in person, the price is $20, otherwise it's $25 to cover packaging and postage.