Christian's paternal ancestors were descended from the Cumberland family of deemsters, or judges, on the Isle of Man. One of his notable ancestors was Fletcher Christian, a participant in the mutiny on the "Bounty". Fletcher was one of the mutineers who in 1790, settled on Pitcairn Island and established an isolated community. Christian's father, Henry Bailey Christian, a veteran of the 1846 Xhosas War, was a successful farmer and merchant and a prominent public figure.