Comfort Sands (February 26, 1748 – September 22, 1834) was an American merchant, banker and politician.

Life

Comfort Sands was born in Cow Neck,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

on February 26, 1748. He was one of eight children born to John Sands (1708–1760) and Elizabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Cornwell) Sands (1711–1782), who also descended from one of the three original families who owned Cow Neck. Sands and his siblings received limited schooling. His older brothers included John Sands (1737-1811), who served as a colonel during the Revolutionary War and was also a member of the New York State Assembly for Queens County, and Joshua Sands, a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Family

The Sands family was one of the original three families that settled in and owned what is now

Sands Point, New York Sands Point is a village located at the tip of the Cow Neck Peninsula in the Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Port Washington area, ...

. Born in Reading, Berkshire, England, James Sands (d. 1695) immigrated to

Plymouth, MA Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

with his wife Sarah and their children, circa 1658. Along with several other men, James Sands obtained what is now

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

from the original inhabitants of the island, the Narragansetts, in 1660. In 1661, Sands sailed from

Taunton, MA Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

and moved his family to Block Island and had six children.

Career

While still in his teens, Comfort left Long Island for

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

to work as a clerk."HISTORICAL DISTRICTS." Real Property Probate and Trust Journal.Vol. 1, No. 3 (1966): 204-11. HISTORICAL DISTRICTS." Real Property Probate and Trust Journal.Vol. 1, No. 3 (1966): 204-211. Donald G. Presa, 14 Jan. 1997. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. Sands worked at several positions including at Joseph Decker's store that was located on Peck Slip in

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. Around 1769, Comfort opened his own store and by 1776, he had become a wealthy merchant. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Comfort was a member of the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

and was appointed as the first New York State Auditor-General (now known as the New York State Comptroller) in 1776. He served in this position until his resignation in 1782. In 1783, Sands and his brother Joshua formed a business partnership dealing in foreign trade and land speculation. Their partnership included

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

ventures and a rope making manufacturing business in Brooklyn. In 1784, the Sands brothers purchased 160 acres of land along the Brooklyn waterfront for $12,000. They acquired the land, originally owned by the Rapelje family (also spelled Rapelye), early Dutch settlers of Brooklyn, under the 1779 New York State "Act for the Forfeiture and Sale of the Estates of Persons who Have Adhered to the Enemies of this State." The land acquired in the purchase included what is now the location of the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

(previously the New York Naval Shipyard), as well as the

DUMBO ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

and

Vinegar Hill Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

neighborhoods bordering the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

in Brooklyn. The waterfront area was to be the site of a new, planned community, called Olympia. It was to be divided into both commercial and residential properties and would be connected to

via the nearby ferry service. Though the land was surveyed, Olympia was never completed. In 1784, he was one of the founders and became one of the first directors of the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financ ...

at its incorporation, the oldest bank in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1784-85, 1788 and 1788-89. He was President of the

New York Chamber of Commerce The New York Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1768 by twenty New York City merchants. As the first such commercial organization in the United States, it attracted the participation of a number of New York's most influential business leaders, in ...

from 1794 to 1798.

Personal life

Comfort Sands married twice and had 18 children, 15 of whom were born to his first wife Sarah and three born to his second wife Cornelia. In 1769, he married Sarah Dodge (1749-1795) of Hunts Point in Westchester County, N.Y. (now part of the Bronx). * Joseph Sands (1772–1825), a banker with

Prime, Ward & King Prime, Ward & King was a prominent American investment bank in the 18th and 19th Century based in New York City. History In 1796, Nathaniel Prime organized " Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker" at 42 Wall Street where he bought and sold ...

who married Maria Theresa Kampfel (1782–1846) * Cornelia Sands (1773–1852), who married

Nathaniel Prime Nathaniel Prime (January 30, 1768 – November 26, 1840) was a New York broker and banker. Early life Prime was born in Rowley, Massachusetts on January 30, 1768. He was the son of Joshua Prime and Bridget Hammond Prime. In his early years, h ...

(1768–1840), the banker. After the death of Sarah, Comfort married Cornelia Lott (1761-1856), daughter of Abraham Lott of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Their children included: *

Robert Charles Sands Robert Charles Sands (May 11, 1799 – December 16, 1832) was an American writer and poet. Biography Robert Charles Sands was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 11, 1799, the son of Auditor-General Comfort Sands. He was a scholar and a writer of ...

(1799–1832), a noted poet. In 1825, Comfort and Cornelia Sands moved to Hoboken, N.J. where he died on September 22, 1834.

Descendants

Through his daughter Cornelia, he was the great-grandfather of Cornelia Ray (1829–1867), who married Gen.

Schuyler Hamilton Schuyler Hamilton (July 22, 1822 – March 18, 1903) was an American soldier, farmer, engineer, and a grandson of Alexander Hamilton. Early life Hamilton was born on July 22, 1822 in New York City. He was the fifth of 14 children born to John Chur ...

(1822–1903), a grandson of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

; Robert Ray (1832–1860), and Nathalie Elizabeth Ray (1837–1912), who married Edmund Lincoln Baylies (1829–1869), the parents of Edmund L. Baylies Jr.

References

External links

Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sands, Comfort 1748 births 1834 deaths New York State Comptrollers Members of the New York State Assembly Members of the New York Provincial Congress People from Sands Point, New York