The 1841 English Census finds Christian living in Goldsithney with 3 other sisters in Mary, Grace and Elizabeth. Mary the eldest of the sisters seems to be taking the responsibility of the household. Next door is their eldest brother John with his wife Ann and their children. Christian’s mother, Grace died in 1831 when Christian was 7 years of age. Her father John Sampson seems to have died somewhere between the birth of her youngest sister, Elizabeth in 1826 and before the date of the 1841 census. The census gives the occupation of the four sisters as ‘works at mine’. It is most probable that all sisters worked at the same mine as ore dressers or bal maidens as they were called. This type of employment meant women and children were employed on the surface of the mine to separate the waste from the ore. Usually women stayed in this employment until they married. [Source: Bal Maidens by Lynne Mayers 2008]

After the census the sisters moved away from Goldsithney most probably due to employment. Her elder sister Mary was in residence at Botallack at the time of her marriage. Possibly her sisters were with her there. It is most probable that the three younger sisters were all together in Carnyorth. Grace was married in 1845 and Christian in 1846 each with their residence at time of marriage as being Carnyorth. Sadly Elizabeth died in Carnyorth in 1849.

At some stage Christian added an ‘a’ on the end of her first name. In March of 1847 Christian and James had their first child born in Mary Elizabeth Wearn. In a matter of 6-7 weeks after the birth James, Christiana and Mary Elizabeth undertook the voyage to South Australia on the ship Cressy. They Arrived in Port Adelaide on 19 August 1847. When their second child arrived they were living in the Murray District which consisted of land between within two miles of the banks of certain rivers. James became a teamster living in the mid north, transporting copper from Burra to the ports.

In May of 1853, James Wearn of Upper Wakefield, teamster, paid 48 pounds to Thomas Henry Williams of Kooringa,copper smelter for a parcel of land in the River Wakefield Survey and on 1 Oct of the same year James paid 40 pounds to James Hodges of Auburn, teamster, for an allotment in the same area. He and brothers in law Martin Warren and Christopher Matthews were amongst the first settlers to purchase an allotment in Auburn. As teamsters they were carting copper ore from Burra to Port Wakefield and their respective homes at Auburn were a stopping place along this route. Later James was a butcher at Auburn.

On the 1 June 1856 he sold land to John Braddock, a surgeon of Auburn for 80 pounds and on 2 November he purchased 16 acres 2 roods from T.H.Williams and took out a mortgage of 50 pounds to the land agent. This was discharged on 25 April 1860. In June that year James sold portion of his land to Charles Ansell, poundkeeper of Auburn for 15 pounds. The South Australian Advertiser of 30 September 1859 identifies James as having residence in Auburn, property block ‘a1’of section 261, Wakefield River Survey.

Copper was discovered at Walleroo Mines in late 1859. In March of 1860 James applied for a publican licence for the Crossroads Inn, Dry Hill and this was granted by the Bench of Magistrates on 24 March 1860 (Reported in the South Australian Advertiser, Monday 26 March 1860 page 3.) The Crossroads Inn was located four miles from Burra where Christiana’s brother John Sampson lived.