Fargo was born on May 5, 1829 in Watervale, New York, an unincorporated hamlet in Onondaga County, northeast of Pompey, New York. He was the seventh of eleven children born to William Congdell Fargo (1791–1878), of New London, Connecticut, and Stacy Chappel Strong (1799–1869). His older brother, the eldest child of William and Stacy, was William Fargo (1818–1881).
In 1845, when he was fifteen, he moved to Buffalo, New York to work for his brother William, who was running express lines between Buffalo, Detroit, Michigan and Albany, New York. Originally a clerk, Fargo was eventually tasked with the delivery of money packages. In 1847, Fargo was granted control of operations in Detroit. Four years later, when the company was organized as Wells Fargo & Company, Fargo was named Superintendent of Virginia operations.
In 1855, Fargo was appointed agent of Chicago, Illinois for the American Express Company, the successor to Wells, Fargo & Co. He was then promoted to General Superintendent of the Northwest Division for the company. He left for New York City, New York in 1867 to assume the position of General Manager of the American Express Company. He became the third president of American Express after William's death in 1881, with former U.S. Representative Theodore M. Pomeroy remaining vice-president. James was also a co-founder, along with William Fargo, of American Express. He was succeeded as president in 1914 by George Chadbourne Taylor.

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