Joshua Sands (October 12, 1757 – September 13, 1835) was an American merchant and politician. He was 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 ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Early life

Sands was born on October 12, 1757 in Cow Neck which is now in the Village of Sands Point, located then in Queens County but since 1899 in

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...

. He was one of eight children born to John Sands (1708–1760) and Elizabeth 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 eldest brother, John Sands (1737-1811), served as a colonel during the Revolutionary War and was also a member of the New York State Assembly for Queens County, 1784 to 1785. His younger brother,

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

(1748-1834), also served on the side of the colonists during the Revolutionary War.

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, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...

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

Career

Sands served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

4th New York Regiment The 4th New York Regiment was one of four established by the New York Provincial Congress at the direction of the Continental Congress for the defense of King's Bridge where Manhattan Island joins the mainland, and of the Hudson River. The r ...

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 ...

, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He soon prospered in the West India trade. During the Revolutionary War, he served on several influential committees and led protests against the Crown."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. In 1783, Sands and his brother

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

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 ...

via the nearby ferry service. Though the land was surveyed, Olympia was never completed. The Sands brothers were also co-founders and 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 ...

, along with

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 ...

Political career

Beginning on July 1, 1791, he was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

during the

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

until the

20th New York State Legislature The 20th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 1, 1796, to April 3, 1797, during the second year of John Jay's governorship, first in New York City, then in Albany ...

, and of the

Council of Appointment The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822. History Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of Ne ...

in 1796. He vacated his seat in the Senate on April 26, 1797 when President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

appointed him

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

. He held this office until July 9, 1801, when he was removed by President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. He was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

to the Eighth Congress, and served from March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1805. He was President of the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the Village 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 ...

in 1824. He was again elected to the

19th United States Congress The 19th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1825, ...

, and served from March 4, 1825 to March 3, 1827.

Personal life

On March 9, 1780, Sand married Ann Ayscough (1761–1851), the daughter of Richard Ayscough, a surgeon in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. St. Ann's Church, the first Episcopal church in

incorporated in 1787, was named in her honor. In 1786, Joshua from Pearl Street 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 ...

to Brooklyn. He bought land along the Brooklyn waterfront in 1784, and built a three-story

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

mansion at 31 Front Street in what is now the Sands Point neighborhood of Brooklyn. At its completion in 1787, it was the largest mansion in Brooklyn. Ann Sands hosted weekly church gatherings in the family home for many years. Together, Joshua and Ann were the parents of twelve children, including: * Joshua Ratoon Sands (1795–1883), who served as a

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Ann Sands died in Brooklyn in 1851. Joshua sand also died at Brooklyn, and was buried at St. Paul's Church Cemetery in

Eastchester, New York Eastchester is a town in southern Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was over 34,641 at the 2020 United States census over 32,363 at the 2010 census. There are two villages within the town: Bronxville and Tuckahoe. The ...

. In 1852, he was re-interred in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

in Brooklyn.

Legacy

There are several places that hold the Sands family name in New York; Sands Point, New York and Sands Street in Brooklyn. Further, St. Ann's Church, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, was reorganized, renamed, and reincorporated in 1795, honoring Ann Sands for her contribution to the founding of the church.

References

;Notes ;Sources *Genealogy of the Sands family i
''Naval Officers, Their Heredity and Development''
by Charles Benedict Davenport (READ BOOKS, 2008, , ; pages 193ff)
''The Old Merchants of New York City''
by Joseph Alfred Scoville (Carleton, 1865; page 303) iving wrong year "1792" for appointment as Collectorbr>''The Merchants' National Bank of the City of New York''
by Philip Gengembre Hubert (Ayer Publishing, 1980, , ; page 80)
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 100, 114ff and 145; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) iving wrong year "1799" of end of tenure in the State Senate

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sands, Joshua New York (state) state senators 1757 births 1835 deaths Continental Army officers from New York (state) Collectors of the Port of New York Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery People from Brooklyn New York (state) National Republicans 19th-century American politicians Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives People from Sands Point, New York