[5] After his grandfather's death, his grandmother married Ebenezer Stevens (1751–1823), a Lt. Col. in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a Maj. Gen. in the New York State Militia, and a merchant.
He acted as broker for a number of important financial interests, including the Astor family.
For many years, he was the president of S.S. Sands & Co.[1] He have several partners throughout his career, including his brother, William Richardson Sands, his brother-in-law, Edmund Brandt Aymar, William Henry Reese, and his sons Samuel Jr. and Charles.
[2] Their elder sister was married to John D. Van Buren Jr., the New York State Engineer and Surveyor.
[2] Through his son Samuel, he was the grandfather of George Winthrop Sands (1885–1908),[24] who was married to Tayo Newton, daughter of Dr. B. Newton of New York, in 1905,[25] and Samuel Stevens Sands III (1884–1913), who married Gertrude Sheldon, daughter of George R. Sheldon, in 1910.