[2] Her father's sister María Trinidad Sánchez, was executed for her participation as a freedom fighter in the Dominican War of Independence.

[3] Her mother was a hairdresser and made combs, while her father worked in the meat trade, selling, butchering and raising cattle.

[2][4] Sánchez was one of eleven siblings: Francisco (1817–1861);[Notes 1] Tomás (1819–1878), Eugenio (1822–1889); Manuel de Jesús (1823–?

As the first feminist journalist in the country, she publicly exposed the corruption of the authorities, and was described as behaving like a man for her outspokenness.

[1] In addition to her nationalist position, Sánchez wrote articles advocating for women's education and employment.

Among the issues deemed objectionable by the authorities were her statements advocating for Dominican sovereignty, free speech, and women's education.

[1] Moving back to the capital, in 1881, Sánchez founded the Colegio La Altagracia (High Grace College) in Santo Domingo, which would become the Escuela Superior de Señoritas (Superior School for Ladies) and graduated the first female secondary students in the country.

[6] She was initially buried in the Capilla de los Inmortales (Chapel of the Immortals) in the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, but her remains were relocated in 1974 to the Panteón Nacional (National Pantheon).