Stephen Sands (bef. 1658 - 1732)

Born before 16 Jun 1658 in Lancashire, England

Husband of Jane (Cowgill) Sands — married 25 Oct 1685 in Neshamina, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Husband of Elizabeth Sands — married 9 Oct 1701 in Bensalem Township, Bucks, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 19 Nov 1732 after age 74 in Bensalem, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, British Colonial America

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Note: Previously this profile was connected as son to parents Richard Sandy and Hester (Aucher) Sandys. There is no direct evidence that Richard and Hester are Stephen's parents; they should not be attached without discussion and concensus. Please see the Ancestry section of this profile and the G2G post for discussion.

Biography

Stephen was a Friend (Quaker)

Birth

Researcher Ellen Logan Sands claims that Stephen Sands was baptised 16 Jun 1658 in Lancashire Parish, England. ^[1]

Ancestry

Sands is commonly believed to be the descendant of Col. Richard Sandys of Downe-Court (later known as Downe Hall), Kent, and Hester Aucher, the sister of Rev. John Aucher, D.D. prebendary of Canterbury. This has likely been disproven, however, by the certificate of removal which Stephen Sands presented to the Middletown Meeting upon arrival in Pennsylvania. The certificate stated that "he goes with consent of his mother, sister and relatives," and was signed by those relatives. As Richard Sandys was a descendant of the Archbishop of York, and Hester Aucher was the sister of a prebendary of a powerful Anglican diocese, it is virtually impossible that the Lancaster Meeting would have received their blessing. Also, both the Sandys and Aucher family had been in Kent, not Lancashire for the entirety of Stephen's life.

However, the Sands/Sandys family does have a long history in Lancashire, with records of residency in Hawkshead Manor of Furnesse Fells as far back as the 15th century, and Sands presented a certificate from the Lancashire Meeting upon arrival in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography published a letter from the grandsons of Stephen Sands addressed to Joseph Sands, Farmer of Lancashire or Lincolnshire, which alludes to birth into a prominent family:

...we remember the Spring 1758 a few days before our father's Death there came a Letter from England that if there was any of the race of Stephen Sands our Grandfather Living that would come or send that they would meet with something Greatly to their Advantage ... we have heard our Father often say when he was alive & when the letter came, that our Grandfather had left a wealthy parentage behind, & that he came away to this province to Enjoy Liberty of Concience[sic] among people called Quakers...^[2]

Therefore, while it is not unreasonable to assume that Stephen is a relative of the Sandys/Sands family of Lancashire, it is virtually certain that he is not the son of Richard Sandys and Hester Aucher.

Immigration

Came to America on the ship "Lamb of Liverpool" with William Penn's Colony in 1682. He was a follower of George Fox and came to America as a servant of James and Ann (Waln) Dillworth to pay for his passage. He brought a certificate from the Lancashire Monthly Meeting in England which he took to the Middletown Monthly Meeting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He settled along the Neshaminy Creek in Bensalem, Bucks County, PA where he was given a grant of 100 acres of land^[3].

Stephen's certificate of removal from Lancaster MM, England, and filed in Middletown MM, PA, dated 18d 4m 1682 stated "he goes with consent of his mother, sister and relatives", and was signed, among others, by Isabella Sands, presumed to be his mother. Stephen Sands was also in the "Lamb" as an indentured servant to James Dilworth of Thornbury, Lancashire, England. Term of his indenture was apparently one year. (The original Bucks Co. Register of Arrivals states he was to be free from his indenture 22d 8m 1683.)

Marriage

He married Jane Cowgill on 25 October (8th month) 1685 in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, daughter of an unknown (probably Ralph) Cowgill and Ellen. Jane Cowgill may have been a niece of James Dilworth. Cowgill History, by Eleanora Cowgill, states Stephen and Jane were married at Nicholas Waln's house in Middletown, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania.

After her death, he married Elizabeth Norcross, widow of William Norcross on 8 mo., 9 da., 1701 (Quaker calendar) at Middletown Meeting.

Will

Stephen's will was dated 25d 11m 1730 and probated 15 Feb 1732-1733.

Burial

Stephen was buried 19 Jan 1732.

Stephen was born in 1658. He passed away in 1732.

Sources

1. ↑ "Stephen Sands Family", RootsWeb Message Boards
2. ↑ Historical Society of Pennsylvania, "Notes and Queries - Sands Family" The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 16, 1892. pp. 462-463.
3. ↑ "upon the 3rd day of 1st mo 1698, an indenture was delivered to him from Joseph Growden for one hundred acres of land in Bensalem township..., vid. Book of Deeds No. 2, p. 287," from Lee, "Genealogical and personal memorial..."

• Find A Grave: Memorial #158288364
• Lee, Francis B, ed. Genealogical and personal memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey, Volume 2. (article on Horace Elmer Case), p. 642.
• Research of Cathy ??, Pregraphic@aol.com, Wed, 10 Sep 1997, citing Henshaw, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy
• Beatrice Eleanora Cowgill, Cowgill History (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press Inc., 1986), 3.

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Sands-139 created through the import of Lea and Randol and Ely and Si.ged on May 31, 2011 by Maude Randol.
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/158288364/stephen-sands/photo