Elias Dayton (May 1, 1737 – October 22, 1807) was an American merchant and military officer who served as captain and colonel of the local militia and in 1783 rose to become a brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War. Afterward, he became the Mayor of Elizabethtown, New Jersey as well as served in the New Jersey General Assembly. He was the father of U.S. Constitution signer Jonathan Dayton.