Born in 1780, this Joseph moved from Springfield and yeoman farming into the wider world of commerce and capital that opened up with the nineteenth century. In 1807 he married Sarah Spencer of Middletown, with whom he had three children: Mary, Lucy, and Junius Spencer, born in West Springfie...
Just as Joseph had moved with America’s urbanizing markets from Springfield to Hartford in 1817, Junius by 1850 was ready for a larger venue than Hartford. In London that spring he met international bankers and leading figures in world trade. Four months after returning home, he dissolved Mat...