 Sands was born on October 12, 1757 in Cow Neck which is now in the Village of Sands Point, located then in Queens County but since 1899 in Nassau County, New York.He was one of eight children born to John Sands (1708–1760) and Elizabeth 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.