Joshua Sands (politician)

Joshua Sands (October 12, 1757 – September 13, 1835) was an American merchant and politician. He was a U.S. Representative from New York.

Life
He was born 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 the son of John Sands and Elizabeth Cornwell. He received a limited schooling, served as a captain in the 4th New York Regiment during the American Revolutionary War, and engaged in mercantile pursuits.

On March 9, 1780, Sand married Ann Ayscough (1761–1851), the daughter of Richard Ayscough, a surgeon in the British Army. St. Ann's Church, the first Episcopal church in Brooklyn, was named in her honor. Among their twelve children was Joshua R. Sands (1795–1883), who served as a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.

He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1792 to 1797, and of the Council of Appointment in 1796. President John Adams appointed him Collector of the Port of New York on April 26, 1797. He held this office until July 9, 1801, when he was removed by President Thomas Jefferson.

He was elected as a Federalist to the Eighth Congress, and served from March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1805. He was President of the board of trustees of the Village of Brooklyn in 1824. He was again elected to the 19th United States Congress, and served from March 4, 1825 to March 3, 1827.

He died at Brooklyn, and was buried at St. Paul's Church Cemetery in Eastchester, New York. In 1852, he was re-interred in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.