Thomas Hurley Brents

Thomas Hurley Brents (December 24, 1840 – October 23, 1916) was an American politician and attorney in the Pacific Northwest. A native of Illinois, he was raised in Oregon where he served in the Oregon House of Representatives. A Republican, he later lived in California and then Washington Territory where he was the Congressional Delegate for the territory from 1879 to 1885.

Early life Thomas Brents was born near Florence, Illinois, in Pike County on December 24, 1840. Brents attended the common schools and in Oregon he attended Portland Academy, the Baptist Seminary in Oregon City, and then McMinnville College (now Linfield College. Brents then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1866 and commenced practice in San Francisco, California, in 1867.

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