Meanwhile, Larkin worked as a clerk for John B. R. Cooper until early 1833, when he was able to start a small store of his own and build a "double geared" flour mill, the first of its kind on the West Coast. He was able to invest again in a sawmill, this time in Santa Cruz. He sailed to Santa Barbara and there was reunited with Rachel. They were married there, on board the American bark "Volunteer", 1833-06-10. The U. S. Consul for the Sandwich Islands, John Coffin Jones, performed the ceremony and years later when it was discovered he did not have the authority to perform the service, they had to be remarried.