James Harvey Ganong was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 businessman in St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at .-Climate:...

 who co-founded Ganong Bros.

Ganong Bros.

Ganong Bros., Limited is Canada's oldest candy company; it was founded by James and Gilbert Ganong in 1873 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick where it is based to this day. The primary product is boxed chocolates...

 chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 making company in 1873 and the St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Co.

St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Company

The St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Company was a Canadian business founded in 1878 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick by brothers James and Gilbert Ganong and Freeman H. Todd. The bothers had earlier founded the Ganong confectionary company and in 1884 dissolved their partnerships with the result that...

 in 1878.

Born in Springfield, New Brunswick

Springfield, New Brunswick

Springfield is a Canadian parish in Kings County, New Brunswick.Its population in the 2006 Census was 1,572.-Delineation:Springfield Parish is defined in the Territorial Division Act as:...

, James was the eldest of the six children of Francis Daniel Ganong and Deborah Ruth Keirstead. In 1863, he married Susan E. Brittain of Carleton, New Brunswick

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

 with whom he had seven children. His father was a farmer and a merchant and as a young man, James worked as a shopkeeper and as a travelling salesman. He lived in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 for a few years where two of his children were born.

In 1873, he and his brother Gilbert

Gilbert Ganong

Gilbert White Ganong was a Canadian politician, the 14th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick and co-founder of Ganong Bros. Limited, candy makers in the town of St...

 moved to the border town of St. Stephen on the St. Croix River across from Calais, Maine

Calais, Maine

Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The city has three United States border crossings or also known as a Port of entry with the busiest being on the St. Croix River bordering St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada...

. There, they established a grocery business and within a few years added a bakery and confectionery manufactory plus expanded their retailing to include a store in Calais.

Successful, in 1878 the brothers, in partnership with Freeman H. Todd, built the St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Company but in 1884 they elected to dissolve their partnership. Gilbert Ganong retained the store, bakery and confectionery business while James took over the soap

Soap

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...

 factory. The soap-making business continued to do very well and became widely known for its Surprise Soap brand that eventually was distributed nationally.

James Ganong was actively involved in community affairs and served as mayor of St. Stephen. He died unexpectedly in 1888 at the age of forty-seven upon which his son, Edwin

J. Edwin Ganong

James Edwin Ganong was a Canadian businessman. Known as Edwin, he was born in Boston, Massachusetts where his Canadian parents had relatives. The son of James H. Ganong and Susan E. Brittain, he is the brother of Susie, Kit , Arthur, and William.His family returned to their native New Brunswick...

, took over the running of the soap business. Gilbert Ganong died without issue and James's son Arthur would take over the chocolate business.