John G. Sands was born on December 4, 1834, in Pennsylvania to Michael Sands and Ann Hoffman. His father was a farmer who owned $3,000 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Union, Pennsylvania, and he married Mary Shick. They had at least seven children: Susanna, born around 1861; Rose, born around 1863; Emma, born around 1868; Elizabeth, born around 1871; Anna, born around 1873; Henry, born around 1878; and Lilian, born around 1884. They lived in Warwick, Pennsylvania, and Sands earned a living as a teacher. By 1860, he owned $200 of personal property. They moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the 1860s, and Sands worked as a minister there. By 1870, he owned $550 of personal property. They moved to Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, in the 1870s. By 1910, they were living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Harrisburg on December 16, 1916.

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