George Herget (1833-1914), prominent Pekin business and banker

The Herget name has been prominent in Pekin’s history since the 1850s and 1860s, when the Herget family left Hesse-Darmstadt in Germany and came to America. Of that family, the immigrant brothers John, George and Philip each played significant roles in the development of Pekin. Evidence of the legacy of the Herget family is found today in the name of the Herget House (or Herget Mansion) at 420 Washington Street, and, until some years ago, in Herget Bank.

Another of the indications of the prominence of the Hergets in Pekin’s history and community life may be found in the 1894 “Portrait and Biographical Record of Tazewell and Mason Counties, Illinois.” Included in that volume were the biographies of four members of the Herget family: the three immigrant brothers John, George and Philip, and John’s second son John H. Herget.

The lives of the three brothers were intertwined, as they often partnered in various business ventures. The eldest, John, also served as Mayor of Pekin in 1873 and 1874.

At the time that George's biography was published in “Portrait and Biographical Record,” page 384, he was president of the Globe Distilling Co., president of the Pekin Electric Light Co., and president of the Pekin Steam Coopering Co. The biography said that he “ranks among the most prominent and successful business men of central Illinois, and has not only sustained the reputation of the family name, but by his honorable and worthy life has added to its lustre,” praising him for his “superior intelligence, sound principles and noble character,” and commenting that, “he is always an earnest advocate of the cause of justice and right, and has exerted a beneficial influence in the community with whose interests his own have long been identified.”

The biography continues, “Born May 9, 1833, the subject of this sketch is a native of Hergeshausen, Kreis Deiburg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany . . . . In his native land he spent the days of boyhood, and learned the trade of a wagon-maker. In 1852 he took passage at Havre, France, on a sailing-vessel bound for America, and after landing in New York, proceeded to Gettysburg, where he engaged in the trade of a carriage-maker until the fall of 1853.

“Coming west at that time via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Mr. Herget settled in Pekin, where he became a carriage-maker in the T. & H. Smith Carriage Works. In 1858 he embarked in the retail grocery business, and two years later he was joined by his brother John.” Together, John and George founded J. & G. Herget Inc. of Pekin, wholesale sellers of groceries and liquor.

The sketch continues, “In 1870 he built a block containing two stores, and there, since 1871, he has conducted an extensive business, being for some time in the wholesale grocery and liquor business, but now devoting his attention wholly to the latter line of work.

“In 1888 Mr. Herget assisted in the organization of the Pekin Steam Coopering Company, and has since been its President. In the fall of 1892 he built the Globe Distillery, which was completed and opened in April of the following year. This concern is situated on the Jacksonville South-eastern Railroad, and has a capacity of five thousand bushels per day, being the largest distillery in Pekin. In addition to these enterprises, Mr. Herget is interested in the Globe Cattle Company, which owns about thirty-eight hundred head of cattle. In the organization of the Electric Light Company he was a prominent factor, and has been its only President.”

It was George’s nephew Carl Herget, son of John, who built the Herget Mansion on Washington Street in 1912. One the most significant parts of the Herget family’s legacy, however, was the establishment of Herget Bank on April 17, 1905. George Herget and his sons Henry G. Herget and William P. Herget founded the bank as George Herget and Sons, and were among the bank’s original board of directors. The bank was chartered nationally in 1910, when it became Herget National Bank of Pekin, Ill.

Another lasting legacy of George Herget was the construction of the Pekin Carnegie Library in 1902. Herget played an important role in the events leading up to the library’s construction. When Mary Gaither had begun to drum up support for a Carnegie Library, Herget responded favorably, writing in a letter of Nov. 8, 1900, “I will be pleased to give to the City of Pekin a site for a Library building according to the terms of a certain letter to you from Mr. Andrew Carnegie, dated October 8th., 1900.”

Copies of that and other related letters were included in the library’s cornerstone time capsule in August 1902. Also included in the time capsule was the title deed conveying the land for the library from George and Caroline Herget to the city of Pekin, along with a photograph of George Herget.

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From the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Tazewell County, page 1018 --

If we have kindly words for men, we should deem it a privilege to speak of them while they live. Those who have reached the allotted three-score and ten, and all along the way have been exemplars of those virtues which mark manliness and exalt citizenship, are deserving full need of praise, as they round out a life of integrity and beneficent usefulness. To speak of Mr. Herget as one who has lived long and lived well, is but to express the conviction of all those who have known him best.

Born May 9, 1833, the subject of this sketch is a native of Hergeshausen, Kreis Dieburg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. His father, Philip, was born in the same place in 1800, and served as an officer in the German army, after which he followed his trade of a wagonmaker, together with farming pursuits. The mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Reuling and who was born in Hergeshausen, was the daughter of George Reuling, a well-to-do farmer of Hesse-Darmstadt; she died in 1836. The father died in Pekin, in September, 1871.

The three children born to Philip and Margaret Herget are: George, of this sketch; John, who died in Pekin in September, 1899, and Mary, the wife of Nicholas Reuling, of Pekin. The father married as his second wife Miss Anna Klein, and they had five children: Margareta, who became the wife of Adam George (both being now deceased); Mary, who married John Fraeger; Philip; Catherine, wife of John Block, and Madeline, wife of George Meisinger, of Peoria, Ill. Of the four living children, all but the last named are residents of Pekin.

Mr. Herget spent his boyhood in his native land, and there learned the trade of a wagonmaker. In 1852 he took passage at Havre. France, on a sailing vessel bound for America, and after landing in New York, proceeded to Gettysburg, where he was employed at his trade until the fall of 1853. Then coming West, via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, he settled in Pekin, where he found employment in the T. & H. Smith carriage-works. In 1858 he engaged in the retail grocery business. Two years later he was joined by his brother John, forming the partnership of J. & G. Herget. In 1870 they erected the store building at the corner of Court and North Fourth Streets where, since its completion, he has conducted an extensive business, being for some time in the wholesale grocery and liquor trade.

In 1888 Mr. Herget assisted in the organization of the Pekin Stave and Manufacturing Company, and has since been its president. In the fall of 1888, with other family interests he built the Star Distillery: in 1890, the Crescent Distillery, and, in 1892, the G1obe Distillery. This is the largest distilling house in Pekin, having a capacity of 5,000 bushels per day. The year 1900 witnessed the building and completion of the Illinois Sugar Refining Company, and Mr. Herget became largely interested in it. In addition to these enterprises, he is also interested in the Globe Cattle Company, which annually feeds from 6.000 to 7.000 head of cattle. He was honored by being elected the first President of the Pekin Park District. As will be seen, he deservedly ranks among the most prominent and successful business men in Central Illinois, and his position in the financial world has been reached only by the exercise of sound business principles and unswerving integrity. He is a safe counsellor, and has always been an advocate of the cause of justice and right, in whatever capacity he may have been called upon to act.

Mr. Herget has frequently been called to public position by his fellow-citizens, but has never been an aspirant for political office. He has served in the City Council, on the Board of Education and has represented the city in the County Board of Supervisors. In politics he has always affiliated with the Republican party.

One of the notable benefactions bestowed by Mr. Herget upon the community was the presentation to the city of the site upon which the Carnegie Library Building stands. He was one of the founders of the St. Paul's Evangelical Church, and, ever since its organization, has been one of its most liberal contributors.

Mr. Herget was married in Pekin, in 1861, to Miss Caroline Goehner, born in that place and the daughter of George Goehner, an old settler and prominent farmer of Tazewell County. To this union four children have been born: Henry G.; Mary L., wife of George Ehrlicher: William P., and Carrie A., wife of C. A. Harnish— all residents of Pekin. The members of the family stand high in the social circles of the city, and are universally respected for worth and nobility of character.