Hurlbut is best known for his collection of affidavits which in 1834 were published in Eber D. Howe’s anti-Mormon book Mormonism Unvailed [sic].
He was a Methodist preacher in Jamestown, New York, and joined Joseph Smith's Church of Christ sometime in 1832 or 1833.
In response to his expulsion from the church, Hurlbut "now determined to demolish, as far as practicable, what he had once endeavoured to build up.
"[7] To accomplish his task, Hurlbut traveled in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania collecting statements disparaging to the Smith name.
Hurlbut later moved to Gibsonburg, Ohio, where he joined a branch of the United Brethren Church and became an elder in 1846.