One of the notable residents of Pekin of times past was an immigrant from Wales named James H. Herbert (1843-1912), who worked as engineer for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad on the line between Pekin and Chicago.
Born in Pontypool in Monmouthshire (now Torfaen borough), in his youth in Wales he started out as a manufacturer of tin sheets, at age 15 getting a job in railroad repairing, and by age 20 began running train engines. Herbert came to America in April 1868, first working on Long Island before striking out west. He made it to Central Illinois in 1869, living with family near Peoria for several years. His work eventually brought him to Pekin in 1892, and he first appears in the 1895 Pekin City Directory: “Herbert James, engineer, h 1023 Broadway.”
Herbert and his family were enumerated in the 1900 U.S. Census at 1023 Broadway as:
James Herbert, 56, locomotive engineer, born in Wales in Feb. 1844, a naturalized citizen; his wife Mildred J. Herbert, 43, born in England in Jan. 1854; their son Gifford Herbert, 10, born in Illinois in April 1890; their daughter Bertha Herbert, 8, born in Illinois in Nov. 1891; and their son Iver Herbert, 6, born in Illinois in Aug. 1893.
His wife Mildred Julia (Bazzard) Herbert died in 1907, so in the 1910 U.S. Census, Herbert is listed as James Herbert, 67, widowed, a railroad engineer living at 1023 Broadway. Apart from his housekeeper Martha Oltman, 44, he is the only one in his household. This census record says he came to America in 1867.
For information about his life and his railroad engineering career, we are fortunate that during the early years of his residence in Pekin he or his family submitted his biographical sketch to be included in the “Portrait and Biographical Record of Tazewell and Mason Counties” (1894). His biography is published on page 381. A sketch of his house at 1023 Broadway (which still stands today and looks much as it did in the 1890s) is on page 379 of the same volume.
Herbert’s Peoria County death record says he suffered a cerebral embolism caused by arteriosclerosis on 22 Feb. 1912, dying at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria. He is buried alongside his wife Julia in Lakeside Cemetery in Pekin. Following is the text of his 1894 biographical sketch:
“JAMES HERBERT, a well known citizen of Pekin, and locomotive engineer on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, formerly between Chicago and Ft. Madison, but now between Chicago and Pekin, is one of our foreign born citizens who have contributed so largely to the development of Tazewell County. The shire of which he is a native was at the time of his birth situated in Wales, but is now a part of England, and he inherits the excellent traits characteristic of the people living ‘near the line.’
“The parents of our subject, James and Sarah (Green) Herbert, were both natives of Wales, where the former was for many years an employee in the shops of the Great Western Railroad. He is deceased, but his widow still survives, making her home in the land of her birth. Eight children blessed their union, of whom six are now living. Of these the third in order of birth is James, who was born in the village of Pontypool, Monmouthshire, February 8, 1843. In early childhood he gained the rudiments of an education in the village schools, but at an early age was obliged to assist in the maintenance of the family. Entering the tin works, he engaged in the manufacture of tin sheets, but as frequently as possible he prosecuted his studies in the neighboring schools, alternating work at the tin furnace with attendance in the schools. Through this employment he gained a practical knowledge of the manufacture of tin, which is a most interesting process, a single piece of tin passing through about sixty-five hands. At the age of fifteen Mr. Herbert left the tin works and engaged in railroad repairing in the shops of Pontypool, afterward securing a position as machinist, later promoted to be fireman, then to hostler, and finally becoming engineer. He was about twenty years old when he ran his first engine, which went from Pontypool to Newport, Swansea, Birkenhead and Birmingham. Believing, however, that rapid as had been his promotion in the Old Country, the United States offered advantages still more desirable, he emigrated to America in April, 1868, landing at New York City. Obtaining a position as engineer on Long Island, he was for a time thus employed, after which he made his home with a sister in Pennsylvania.
“The year 1869 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Herbert in Illinois, and for a time he made his home on a farm near Peoria with an uncle and aunt. Later he ran an engine in a flouring-mill for a short time, after which he went to St. Louis, intending to return to New York. Instead of this, however, he secured a position as passenger engineer on the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad. Three months later he obtained a position on a switch engine, before the Eads bridge was built, and afterward became passenger engineer on the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad between Vincennes, Ind., and St. Louis, Mo., making his home in the former place. For sixteen years he was thus engaged, and at the expiration of that time resigned, intending to retire from the railroad. But sixteen months later, in May, 1888, he accepted a position on the local freight of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, running between Chicago and Ft. Madison. In September, 1890, he was transferred to the branch road, and lived in Streator for two years, coming to Pekin in 1892.
“In Chicago, in 1889, Mr. Herbert was united in marriage with Miss Julia Buzzard, who was born in England and is a lady of estimable character and amiable disposition. Three children have blessed this union, Gifford J., Bertha M. and Ivar L. While Mr. Herbert has been obliged, by the nature of his occupation, to devote his energies almost exclusively toil, he has nevertheless found time to keep himself posted upon topics of general interest, and is a well-informed man. Socially, he is connected with the Masonic fraternity and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.”
