Joseph Spencer (October 3, 1714 – January 13, 1789) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman from Connecticut.

He cancelled a planned attack on British forces in Rhode Island and was censured by the Continental Congress.

[9] After his first wife's death in 1754, he married Hannah (née Brown) Southmaid (1730–1808), with whom he had eight more children, including:[1][9] Spencer died on January 13, 1789, in East Haddam and was buried in Millington Cemetery west of the Millington Green section of East Haddam near where he lived.

Later he and his wife were re-interred at the Nathan Hale Park of East Haddam and a monument was erected in his honor.

[9] Major General Robert Ernest Noble was Spencer's great-great-great-grandson and became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.