Bess, an African American woman residing in Chowan Precinct, North Carolina, was enslaved by Nicholas Crisp. One night in early 1720, she heard Sambo, an African American man enslaved by Crisp, make his preparations to leave the plantation. In April 1720 after Sambo was apprehended, Bess made a deposition about what she had heard during his escape. Later in July 1725 when Nicholas Crisp's son John married, Crisp gave the couple ownership over Bess, but requested that Bess would remain working for Nicholas Crisp until his death. John Crisp died in 1727 prior to his father's death in about 1728, but the agreement would indicate that ownership of Bess then transferred to John Crisp's wife Elizabeth. No further records regarding this individual have been located.