Bessie Delilah Cox, the daughter of Horace Cox and Sarah Ann Green Cox, was born in 1890 in Lakeland, Georgia. She married Colquitt Bashlor, a native of Bryan County, Georgia who had moved to Lakeland to work in the timber industry.  They had five children: Myrtle, who died of appendicitis at age ten; Georgia Brunell; Russell; Maxwell; and Janette. When in 1925 Colquitt died of a heart attack after being thrown from a horse,  Bessie was left alone to raise her children, the youngest of which was only thirteen months old.

Bessie had a difficult time providing for herself and the four children left at home in Dupont, Georgia.  Fortunately, she was an excellent seamstress and used her talent to bring in a little extra money for the family. She made all the clothes for her children - Janette never had a "store-bought" dress until she was in the seventh grade. In later years, she even made the bassinet covers for her great-grandchildren, Rhonda Barlow and Robert Kinsey
Cooking on an old-fashioned wood stove, Bessie was able to make a meal out of almost nothing. She always had a garden to provide fresh vegetables for her family when they had little else. Her children remember her as a fantastic cook. Nobody could make macaroni and cheese like hers!

She worked in the school lunchroom for the salary of fifteen dollars every two weeks and later at the mattress factory in Homerville. Because of the danger of fire, the mattress factory had no heat in the winter; but Bessie worked without complaining because she needed the money .

By today's standards, her life would seem to have been unbearably difficult, but Bessie never seemed to mind the hard work or lack of comforts. Her house did not have electricity until 1941 when her son Maxwell arranged to have it wired for electricity. Her first refrigerator was given to her by her daughter Janette and Janette's husband Woody not long after they were married. She never owned a TV, but after she came to live with Janette and Woody in 1957, she loved to watch their TV. Her favorite programs were "Gunsmoke" and "Days of Our Lives."

Bessie always wore an apron over her dress at home, and she always wore cotton stockings. She did not cut her hair for many years and wore it in a bun or braid wrapped around her head. After surgery at the age of 70, she finally had her hair cut and enjoyed having it styled at the beauty parlor.

Bessie was known as a very caring, compassionate person who was loved by everyone in DuPont. Her devotion to her children and the sacrifices she made to raise them should be an inspiration to all of her descendants.