Representative Thomas Hurley Brents

Thomas Hurley Brents (December 24, 1840 – October 23, 1916) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist in the Pacific Northwest who served as a Representative from Washington in the United States Congress from 1879 to 1885. A member of the Republican Party, he was the Congressional Delegate for Washington Territory during three consecutive terms, contributing to the legislative process in the Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh, and Forty-eighth Congresses. Over the course of his career he held a variety of public offices in Oregon, California, and Washington Territory, and later served as a superior court judge in Washington.

Brents was born near Florence, in Pike County, Illinois, on December 24, 1840. During his childhood he moved with his family to the Pacific Northwest and was raised in Oregon. He attended the common schools and pursued further education at Portland Academy, the Baptist Seminary in Oregon City, and McMinnville College (now Linfield University). His early exposure to both frontier life and formal schooling helped prepare him for a career that combined business, law, and public service in emerging Western communities.

Brents began his public career in Oregon. In 1862 he served as a justice of the peace, an office that placed him at the local level of the judicial system during a period of rapid settlement and development. He then moved to Canyon City, Oregon, where from 1863 to 1864 he engaged in the general mercantile business. While in Canyon City he also served as postmaster, reflecting the common practice in frontier towns of combining commercial and governmental responsibilities. From 1864 to 1866 he was clerk of Grant County, Oregon, gaining further administrative and legal experience in county government.

In 1866 Brents entered territorial and state-level politics. That year he served as a delegate to the Union-Republican convention of Oregon and was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives from Grant County. At the same time he pursued legal studies and was admitted to the bar in 1866. Seeking broader professional opportunities, he moved to California and commenced the practice of law in San Francisco in 1867. His work there as an attorney connected him with the legal and commercial networks of the Pacific Coast during the post–Civil War era.

Brents relocated to Walla Walla, in Washington Territory, in 1870, where he continued to build his legal and political career. He served as city attorney of Walla Walla in 1871 and 1872, representing the municipality in legal matters as the town developed into a regional center. In 1874 he presided over the Republican territorial convention at Vancouver, Washington Territory, underscoring his growing influence within the party. A committed Republican, he aligned himself with the party’s national and regional priorities during Reconstruction and the subsequent period of western expansion.

Elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives as the territorial delegate from Washington, Brents served in the Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh, and Forty-eighth Congresses from March 4, 1879, to March 3, 1885. As a nonvoting delegate, he represented the interests of Washington Territory in Congress during a significant period in American history, when issues of western development, infrastructure, and territorial governance were prominent. During his tenure he participated in the democratic process and advocated for his constituents, though his record also reflected the racial and ethnic prejudices of the era. He was an outspoken proponent of exclusionary policies toward Chinese immigrants, asserting that “Most them are criminals and prostitutes… almost without an exception they will steal, commit perjury and other crimes of the most heinous nature,” a stance that aligned him with contemporary anti-Chinese agitation in the West. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1884 and left Congress at the close of his third term.

After his congressional service, Brents resumed the practice of law in Washington. He continued to be active in the legal profession and, in 1896, was appointed or elected judge of the superior court of Walla Walla. He held that judicial office from 1896 to 1913, presiding over a broad range of civil and criminal matters as the region transitioned from territorial status to statehood and experienced significant economic and demographic growth. His long tenure on the bench made him a prominent figure in the legal life of southeastern Washington.

Thomas Hurley Brents died in Walla Walla, Washington, on October 23, 1916, at the age of 75. He was interred in Blue Mountain Cemetery. His career spanned local, territorial, and national office, reflecting the opportunities and conflicts of the developing American West, and included service in both legislative and judicial capacities in Oregon and Washington Territory.