It is assumed that Grace was named after her mother. Grace was 8 years of age when her mother died in 1830. Research thus far has not been able to determine what happened to her father John Sampson. It may be that her older sister has a level of resposibility to caring for her younger sisters in Christiana, Grace and Elizabeth (The 1841 census lists Mary Sampson as the head of house). In 1839, a seventeen year old Grace Sampson appeared at Bodmin assizes on the charge of ‘Larceny by a servant’. She was found guilty and was sentenced to prison at Bodmin Gaol for three months. Her record there says she was admitted 2 Aug 1839 (Her number was 6091). Her occupation was given as servant and her abode as ‘Perran’. Her crime: Stealing at Marazion Sundry Articles of Apparel the property of George Seeley. Grace was committed to trial at the Summer Assizes 1 Aug 1839. 3 Cal Mos H L, first and last weeks in Soly. No previous. This record goes on to describes Grace as aged 17, height 5-4¼, eyes dark, hair brown, complexion fresh, can read, single. Scar over left Eye, little fingers crooked. Freckled. Grace was discharged 1 Nov 1839. Remarks Behaviour ‘Orderly’

The 1841 English census found Grace living with her sisters Mary, Christian and Elizabeth in Goldsithney. Next door was the family of her eldest brother John.  At this time these siblings were all employed in the Cornish mining industry. The years to follow would see them moving to various locations. The sisters moved to Carnyorth most probably for employment reasons working as bal maidens until they were married. Christian and her elder brother John made the big decision to migrate to the Colony of South Australia in 1847. Elizabeth died in 1849 and their brother in Thomas migrated to the USA in 1848. Grace married John Hicks in 1845.  The censuses indicate that John & Grace Hicks lived in  Letcha for the remainder of their lives. John’s parents lived at Letcha as did a number of his relatives. Both John and Grace could not write(as shown by their marriage certificate where they signed their names with a mark) as in their childhood there was no law requiring primary aged children to attend school. That law would not arrive till many years later in 1880. Of their seven children only three made it to adulthood.