Born in Herriottsville, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Herriott served in the Union Army during the American Civil War as a member of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment and participated in the Battles of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Herriott moved to Iowa where he was in business. Herriott served as Iowa State Treasurer and then Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1902 until 1907, serving under Governor Albert B. Cummins. He died in Des Moines, Iowa.