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 continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

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

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

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 is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

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 Political subdivisions of New York State#Village, village located at the tip of the Cow Neck Peninsula in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long ...

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

Plymouth, MA Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

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 of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Isl ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

from the original inhabitants of the island, the Narragansetts, in 1660. In 1661, Sands sailed from Taunton, MA and moved his family to Block Island and had six children.

Career

While still in his teens, Comfort left Long Island for

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

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 City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, 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 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 in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

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

DUMBO ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...

and

Vinegar Hill Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

neighborhoods bordering the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is 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 Long Island, ...

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, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

at its incorporation, the oldest bank in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 Ass ...

from

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

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, inc ...

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 Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

(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 b ...

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, he ...

(1768–1840), the banker. * Richardson Sands (1783-1806) After the death of Sarah, Comfort married Cornelia Lott (1761-1856), daughter of Abraham Lott of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. 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 (1748–1834) and his second wif ...

(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 C ...

(1822–1903), a grandson of

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

; Robert Ray (1832–1860), and Nathalie Elizabeth Ray (1837–1912), who married

Edmund Lincoln Baylies Edmund Lincoln Baylies, Jr. (December 2, 1857 – April 29, 1932) was a New York City lawyer, philanthropist, and member of New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Baylies was born in New York on December 2, 1857. He was the eldest ...

(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 18th-century American merchants 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature