When Jeremiah Hurlbut twenty-five years old, the Joseph Smith Sr. family moved to Palmyra. The next year, the Smiths were living on Main Street next to the Jeremiah Hurlbut family.
Joseph Smith Sr. and his son Alvin initiated a lawsuit in January 1819 against their twenty-eight year old neighbor, Jeremiah Hurlbut. The lawsuit arose from the sale of a pair of horses to the Smiths for $65. The Smith sons had worked for Jeremiah Hurlbut to pay down the $65 obligation for the horses and for other goods during the summer of 1818. A trial was held on February 6, 1819. The twelve male jurors were property owners. The Smiths called five witnesses; Jeremiah Hurlbut called seven.
Joseph and Hyrum Smith were called to testify. This was young Joseph’s first experience in the judicial process. From the record, it appears that Judge Spear found thirteen year old Joseph competent to testify about the work he had performed for Jeremiah Hurlbut. His testimony proved credible. The court record indicates that every item he testified to was included in damages awarded to the Smiths.[1] Jeremiah appealed the court decision, but it was not overturned.
Jeremiah continued to live on Main Street after the Smiths purchased a farm on Spafford Road in Manchester. When his first wife, Cynthia Harris Hurlbut, died in 1838, Jeremiah courted and married the daughter of Dr. Alexander McIntyre, a neighbor and man of high standing. A few weeks after his marriage, on March 9, 1839 Jeremiah purchased a pew in the Western Presbyterian Church for $40. In 1842, Jeremiah and his family moved to Brighton, Wisconsin. In Brighton, Jeremiah was a founding member of the Union Congregational Church.[2] On August 15, 1850, Jeremiah died in Brighton at age fifty-nine.
[1] Smith, History of Joseph Smith by his Mother, p. 139; Walker, United by Faith, p. 91; Jeffrey N. Walker, “Joseph Smith’s Introduction to the Law: The 1819 Hurlbut Case,” Mormon Historical Studies, pp. 129–130; Palmyra Road Tax List, 1817–1822.
[2] Hurlbut, “A Small Branch of the Hurlbut Family Tree.”