In July 1850 he left England and travelled to New York, where he rented Charles Astor Bristed's house at Hell Gate. In 1851 he took a house at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he later bought property and made some efforts at farming. In 1852 he was appointed British Consul at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1856 the Consulate was moved to Richmond. His novels "Ticonderoga" and "The Old Dominion", written at this time, were set in the United States. In 1858 he was transferred to Venice, Italy, partly due to failing health, where he was appointed Consul General. In April 1860, he became seriously ill. He died in June 1860 from a stroke. He was buried in the cemetery at Isola di San Michele. The epitaph on his grave stone was written by his friend Walter Savage Landor. The epitaph reads:"George Payne Rainsford James.<br>British Consul General in the Adriatic.<br>Died in Venice on the 9th day of June, 1860.<br>His merits as a writer are known wherever the English language is, and as a man they rest on the hearts of many.<br>A few friends have erected this humble and perishable monument."