Thomas Respess was born in Mathews County, Virginia in about 1720. A resident of Beaufort County, North Carolina, Respess was a local militia captain, justice of the peace, and sheriff, serving in the latter role from 1762 to 1764 and from 1769 to 1771. An owner of enslaved people, Respess helped stop a group of enslaved African Americans from revolting in 1775. Respess died in Beaufort in about 1799.