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.

[2] His younger brother, Comfort Sands (1748-1834), also served on the side of the colonists during the Revolutionary War.

Born in Reading, Berkshire, England, James Sands (d. 1695) immigrated to Plymouth, MA with his wife Sarah and their children, c. 1658.

In 1661, Sands sailed from Taunton, MA and moved his family to Block Island and had six children.

[2] Sands served as a captain in the 4th New York Regiment during the American Revolutionary War, and engaged in mercantile pursuits.

[3][4] Their partnership included real estate ventures and a rope making manufacturing business in Brooklyn.

He vacated his seat in the Senate on April 26, 1797, when President John Adams appointed him Collector of the Port of New York.

Joshua Sands also died at Brooklyn, and was buried at St. Paul's Church Cemetery in Eastchester, New York.