Joseph Hardison (d. 1788) was a resident of Tyrrell and later Martin County. In 1777 Benjamin Moss stated that he was recruited into the Gourd Patch Conspiracy by William Collins while helping at a reaping at Hardison's residence. No other evidence ties Hardison directly to the plot, so it is unclear whether or not he was a member of the conspiracy himself. However, his father-in-law John Collins was a member, and Hardison later named several known members in his will, including Moss, John Stewart, and Richard Fagan.