Thomas Hurley Brents (December 24, 1840 – October 23, 1916) was an American politician and attorney in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

. A native of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, he was raised in Oregon where he served in the Oregon House of Representatives. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he later lived in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and then

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

where he was the Congressional Delegate for the territory from 1879 to 1885.

Early life

Thomas Brents was born near

Florence, Illinois Florence is a village in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17 at the 2020 census, making Florence the second-least populated municipality in Illinois. Geography Florence is located at (39.628248, −90.610328). Accordin ...

, in Pike County on December 24, 1840. Brents attended the common schools and in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

he attended Portland Academy, the Baptist Seminary in Oregon City, and then McMinnville College (now

Linfield College Linfield University is a private university with campuses in McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participates in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Linfield reported a combined 1,755 students after the fal ...

. He served as a Justice of the Peace in 1862 and then moved to Canyon City, Oregon, where he was engaged in the general mercantile business from 1863 to 1864. There he served as postmaster at the same time, and then from 1864 to 1866 he served as clerk of

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

Political career

In 1866, he served as delegate to the Union-Republican convention of Oregon, and was elected that year to the Oregon House of Representatives from Grant County.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1866 Regular Session (4th).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 21, 2009. Brents then studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1866 and commenced practice in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, in 1867. Brents moved to

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

, in 1870 and served as city attorney of Walla Walla in 1871 and 1872. He then presided over the Republican Territorial convention at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1874. Brents was elected as a

to the Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh, and Forty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1885). Brents was an enthusiastic advocate of bigotry toward Chinese immigrants, claiming that "Most them are criminals and prostitutes. . . . almost without an exception they will steal, commit perjury and other crimes of the most heinous nature."13 Cong. Rec. Appendix 39

Later life

He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1884 and then resumed the practice of law, later serving as judge of the superior court of Walla Walla from 1896 to 1913. Thomas Brents died in

, on October 23, 1916, at the age of 75 and was interred in Blue Mountain Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brents, Thomas Hurley 1840 births 1916 deaths Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Washington Territory Oregon postmasters Linfield University alumni Members of the Oregon House of Representatives People who died at sea Portland, Oregon Republicans Politicians from Walla Walla, Washington Washington (state) Republicans Washington (state) state court judges 19th-century American politicians People from Pike County, Illinois People from Canyon City, Oregon 19th-century American judges