Herbert was born in Sweden and emigrated with his parents in 1880. He was a metal worker and apparently worked as a mechanic at the Fenton Metal Works in 1895-96. Herbert and Mary were married 03 Jun 1903 in Cold Springs, NY (on East bank of the Hudson River). They were living at 76 Chautauqua Ave. in Jamestown according to a 1909 Swedish Directory. They appear to have moved to Youngstown, Ohio between 1909 and 1910. By 1920 they had moved to Detroit where he lived until his death in 1959

He was apparently a good record keeper according to his grandson Lance Oberg. He left several documents which included budget logs from 1919, daily calorie intake records from 1928 (he sometimes exceeded his 1200 calorie daily max.), job/employee logs from two work places: Swedish Crucible Steel and Stannus Propeller, and address books.

He had lived a fairly long life at 85. His body was brought back to Jamestown, NY to be buried in the family plot in Lakeview Cemetery.