Although his paternal grandfather had farmed in York County, his father had been born in Williamsburg, where he had attended the grammar school of the College of William and Mary before moving to the state capital in 1843 to become the deputy clerk of the Superior Court.
He joined the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (during which he was a judge advocate), and also became a Baptist minister (with congregations in Ashland and Glen Allen north of Richmond).
This boy was named after his father's friend, lawyer, historian and writer Conway Robinson.
Admitted to the Virginia bar, Sands would serve as the commonwealth attorney (prosecutor) for Richmond, as well as become active in Democratic party politics, and practice law with his father and youngest brother.
[4] His brother, Alexander Hamilton Sands, served as Commonwealth's Attorney for Henrico County.