Herbert Johnston was the son of John James Johnston and Margaret Beaty and was born at Meaford on April 21st, 1874. He attended the Public and High Schools at Meaford. From 1892 to 1893 he was postmaster, telegraph operator and general merchant in the village of Hollen (?), Ontario. He attended the County Model School at Owen Sound and received the third class certificate of qualification as a public school teacher on Dec. 14, 1895. For several years he taught in schools at Mountain Lake and North Keppel, before studying Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, graduating from the School of Practical Science in 1903.
He served his apprenticeship with W. M. Davis, O.L.S. at Kitchener and was granted his certificate in February, 1905. Mr. Johnston joined Mr. Davis in partnership from 1904 to 1910, and was also Assistant City Engineer at Kitchener. He was City Engineer at Kitchener from 1910 to 1917. From 1917 on he worked in private practice as a consulting engineer and Ontario Land Surveyor. He was Engineer for Waterloo County, as well as for the towns of Hespeler, Preston, Elmira and New Hamburg, and for the Townships of Waterloo and Wilmot. He was appointed as a member of the Kitchener Road Commission and Kitchener Planning Board. He was an active member of King Street Baptist Church in Kitchener.
Mr. Johnston married Ellen Agnes Clarke, and their children were Ruch (sic) A. Trinier, Alethea M., and Herbert Paul. Herbert Johnston died in Kitchener on June 13th, 1961.