Trobec was baptized Jakob Trobez[1] on July 10, 1838, in Log pri Polhovem Gradcu, then part of the Austrian Empire.

[3] Trobec received his early education at the parochial school of Polhov Gradec and continued his studies at the Bežigrad Gymnasium in Ljubljana.

On July 5, 1897, Trobec was named by Pope Leo XIII to succeed the late Martin Marty as bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud.

[3] Due to ill health, Trobec submitted his resignation to the Vatican as bishop of Saint Cloud on April 15, 1914, and it was accepted by Pope Pius X the following June.

The James Trobec Arts Center (Slovene: Kulturni dom Jakoba Trobca) in Polhov Gradec, Slovenia is named for him.