Bessie R. Lucas Eichelberger

Birth: September 4, 1863 Pleasant Hill, Missouri
Death: February 14, 1952 Reno, Nevada

Role in Women’s Suffrage: Secretary-Treasurer of the Nevada Equal Franchise
Society for all the years it was in existence.

HerStory: (Written by Bessie for her obituary) “I was born to Capt. William Lucas and Nannie J. Reese Lucas. I married Robert D. Eichelberger on September 15, 1885 and we lived together until he died on April 30, 1943.”

“We came to Reno in 1900 to stay and Mr. Eichelberger was an employee of the Wells Fargo & Co. I was connected with the winning of suffrage for women from the inception of “Votes for Women” (as the secretary-treasurer of the Nevada Equal Franchise through the years it took to win.) During the time we lived in Reno, I became an Eastern Star and in 1913 was matron of Adah chapter No. 4. OES.”

“I formerly was press chairman for the Twentieth Century club, and was organizer of the Women’s Citizens club, which was political power in its time, along with the WCTU of which I was secretary-treasurer for many years.”

She was still acting secretary for the Indian Welfare committee at the time of her death.

Robert and Bessie Eichelberger are buried in the Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno, Nevada.

Researched and written by the Nevada Women’s History Project for the Nevada Commission for Women, 2020