Mr Crow had settled in Duffers Gully and was earning a living as a gold miner. About this time he wrote a letter to his wife, Jane Crow in Cumberland and organised for her and the children to join him in Duffers Gully. Dwelling #494 where he was living was too small for the whole family so he built a new, larger, more substantial house. This was dwelling #346, which was constructed close to dwelling #301.

On 3 Aug, Jacob and his partner John King filed a notice of intention to construct a water race at the Wardens Office in Cromwell. They wanted to construct a water race to divert the water for mining purposes. The mining race would commence at a point in Ramsay's Creek on the Carrick range, about 3/4 mile from it's junction with Bannockburn Creek taking in it's course and situated about half way, a small tributary, and terminating at our extended claim. After leaving our claim the water will run into Duffers Creek then into Bannockburn Creek. It is not known if the water race was ever constructed, or if it was successful.

In December 1881, Jane Crow with her three children and her father, Issac Leavens, arrived in Bannockburn via the old Dunstan Road, the Earnscleugh and Bannockburn Roads. William and Mary Parcell of Halfway House (#292) were the Crow's closest neighbors. Mary Parcell welcomed Jane Crow with a cup of tea and a gift of a stone hot water bottle.

The Crow family lived in both dwellings #301 and #346. Issac Leavens may have lived in #301. On his arrival in Duffers Gully, Isaac Leavens planted a vegetable garden with the seeds that he had brought from his garden in Cumberland. He then set about constructing a good track into Duffers for a spring cart. Jane boiled up docks and nettles for vegetables. The Parcell family became close friends with the Crow family. Jane Crow acted as the midwife when Mary Parcell gave birth to her last two children. They were the twin girls, Ida and Ada, who were born in August 1884.

The Crow family moved into Bannockburn to be closer to the school for the children. They settled in Terrace Road where it appears that Jacob Crow built dwelling #14. The three children were enrolled at Bannockburn School on 10 April. It appears that although the family had shifted to Bannockburn, Jacob was still involved in mining in Duffers Gully.

in November, Jacob Crow and his partner William Anderson were applying for a protection certificate for 90 days for their claim at Pipeclay Terrace which had been worked for the last 12 months. The protection was for just one mans ground as they could only get sufficient water for this to work profitably. It is unclear whre Mr King lived. He may have lived in Duffers Gully, he may have lived with the Crows, or he may have lived in one of the other huts in Duffers Gully (#300, #301, #345, #346 or #347). It is also not clear who lived in dwellings #301 and #346 when the Crows moved to Bannockburn.