Samuel Spencer was born in East Haddam, Connecticut on January 21, 1734. By 1765 Spencer had moved to Anson County, North Carolina, where he was appointed clerk of court. Spencer represened Anson in the North Carolina Colonial Assembly from 1776 to 1768 and was a member of the Provincial Council from 1774 to 1776. He served as a justice of the superior court from 1777 until his death in 1793. Spencer also served as a delegate at the conventions of 1788 and 1789 to ratify the United States Constitution. He died in Anson on May 22, 1793.