James H. Ganong

James Harvey Ganong (January 9, 1841 – April 21, 1888) was a Canadian businessman in St. Stephen, New Brunswick who co-founded Ganong Bros. chocolate making company in 1873 and the St. Croix Soap Manufacturing Co. in 1878. Biography Born in Springfield, New Brunswick, 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 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 for a few years where two of his children were born. In 1873, he and his brother Gilbert moved to the border town of St. Stephen on the St. Croix River across from Calais, Maine. 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.