Capt. A. J. Hurlburt was a Confederate veteran and early mining pioneer who helped found L

Hurlburt was a Confederate veteran and early mining pioneer who helped found Legal Tender Hill in Grant County, New Mexico, after surviving an Apache raid that killed his wife and child. ^[3] He was born in New Hampshire and in early life emigrated to Missouri. ^[3] During the Civil War he was commissioned a captain in the Confederate service and served with distinction at the Battle of Prairie Grove. ^[3] After the war he engaged in successful mining in Nevada, then in 1868 came to Pinos Altos, New Mexico. ^[3] In 1869 he leased a ranch from W. Milby at San Vicente Cienega (now Silver City). ^[3] In August 1869, while he was in his cornfield, Apaches attacked his cabin; his wife hid his rifle in the chimney but she and their child were killed and mutilated. ^[4] Hurlburt escaped and gave the alarm at the Langston mine near Pinos Altos. ^[4] In 1870 he was one of eight men who located Legal Tender Hill, leading to the discovery of the Sherman mine and the Chloride Flat mining district. ^[4] He died July 18, 1890 of an abscess of the brain in his 58th year ^[1] and was buried in the Masonic cemetery with a large concourse of friends; his pall bearers included Messrs. Brahm, McDonald, Mason, Cooney, Watts, and Anderson. ^[2]