James Gamble was born at the Graan near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, and went to Portora Royal School.

[3] His father George Gamble, who was a Methodist minister, decided with his family to escape the depression in Ireland.

Staying in the city, his father established a nursery and Gamble apprenticed as a soap maker.

Cincinnati then was a major pig-butchering center and produced large amount of pig fat used for making candles and soap.

[1] James Norris Gamble married Margaret Penrose; he died in his sleep on 2 July 1932 in Cincinnati and is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery.