Already an established lawyer with a large family, James, with his oldest son and future son-in-law, came to California in 1851 to mine for gold in the area around Chinese Camp. He apparently liked what he saw because they returned home and gathered up a wagon train with a large family contingent and left Oregon County, Missouri to be a pioneering party in crossing the Sonora Pass during 1853. Even with the attrition that occurs on the trail, the Kerrick group was still sizable when spotted crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains. There were 9 wagons drawn by oxen, 40 group members, and 150 cattle with various horses and mules. Unlike many first-time emigrants, the Kerrick party was well provisioned because of their previous experience.
Once in Tuolumne County, he immediately went to work establishing 'The Kentucky Ranch' and building the 'Kentucky House' near Green Springs on the Mound Springs Road to Chinese Camp. The 'House' was a freighting and traveler's stop with overnite accommodations including bar and restaurant with livery facilities that continued for five decades. This site continues to be remembered to this day with a historical marker including the round stone corral from this period and the later 'Crimea House' that the 'Kentucky House' became known as after the Chinese Tong War of 1856 that occurred in the adjoining pasture. Kerrick sold the ranch in the same year, but not before establishing the 'House' as a site for marriages and other happy events. He retired to his son's ranch on the Sonora Road near Collegeville. The stopping place was known to the freighters as the '8-mile House' or 'Kerricks'. He died of tuberculosis, and the city Sexton of Stockton claims that he was buried on 1 Oct 1857. Whether his burial was moved or not, the Kerrick family always claimed that both James and Rachel were buried in the Collegeville Cemetery.