Nevada Suffrage Centennial

Rosalie Hassock Holcomb Hash

By Dana R. Bennett, PhD, Reno, Nevada

Role in Women’s Suffrage: Vice-President, Battle Mountain Chapter of the Nevada Equal Franchise Society, 1912

Rosalie Hassock was born in St. Johns, New Brunswick, Canada, in April 1865 and grew up in Colorado. She married Albert Holcomb on October 4, 1884, in Crested Butte, Colorado. Together with their two sons, Clarence and Errol, the family moved to Battle Mountain, Nevada, in 1904.

Soon after arriving in Battle Mountain, an Episcopalian parish was organized for the town. The St. Andrew’s Ladies Guild was organized in the Holcomb home, and Rosalie Holcomb served as its first president. The St. Andrew’s church building was constructed in 1907 after land and funds were contributed by Edith Jenkins. Holcomb was an active member of the St. Andrew’s Guild for over three decades.

When prominent Battle Mountain women formed a local branch of the Nevada Equal Suffrage Society in August 1912, Rosalie Holcomb was elected vice-president, and Edith Jenkins was elected president. The group successfully encouraged the election of pro-suffrage legislators, but Holcomb was not re-elected as an officer when the chapter was reorganized in October 1913. Perhaps she was not involved because of her new marriage. Albert had died in Battle Mountain in 1910. At some point between 1912 and 1920, she married James A. Hash, the town’s constable and a member of the all-male advisory board for the Battle Mountain suffrage group. They were divorced before 1930.

After Albert’s death, Rosalie Holcomb was employed as the Battle Mountain telephone operator, but information about her activities is difficult to locate. Both sons served honorably in World War I and returned to Battle Mountain. Errol was killed in a 1925 mining accident, and Clarence died in 1954. The entire family is interred in the Battle Mountain Cemetery. Rosalie Hassock Holcomb Hash died on February 27, 1938, in Battle Mountain, where she was buried next to Albert.

Sources:

  • Dana R. Bennett, All Roads Lead to Battle Mountain: A Small Town in the Heart of Nevada, 1869-1969, 2014.
  • “Last Rites Held for Mrs. R. Hash.” Reno Evening Gazette 62, no. 53. March 3, 1938, p.6. Newspapers.com.
  • U.S. Census and other public records, Ancestry.com.

January 1, 2018