Columbia County PA Archives Biographies.....SANDS, Charles L. 1850 - living in 1899 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 8, 2005, 5:07 pm Author: Biographical Publishing Co. CHARLES L. SANDS, of the firm of C. L. Sands & Company, proprietors of the Mordansville Woolen Mills, manufacturers of flannels, yarns, blankets and skirts, and one of the highly esteemed citizens of Mordansville, was born in Greenwood township, Columbia County, Pa., December 16, 1849, and is a son of Joseph and Esther (Lundy) Sands. John Sands, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, and his brother Samuel emigrated from England prior to the Revolutionary War, being driven from their native country, as were many others, by religious persecution. Samuel settled on Long Island, N. Y., where many of his descendants now reside. John, the progenitor of our subject's branch of the family, located in Berks County, Pa. Among his children was Daniel Sands, the great-grandfather of our subject, who was a resident of Berks County all his life; he was the father of a family of children, one of whom was John, our subject's grandfather, who came to Columbia County about 1800. John Sands was a miller by trade and first located at Brown's Mills, Mifflin township, where he followed his trade a number of years, and later operated what is now known as Coles Mills, in Pine township. He worked these mills until death claimed him, in June, 1856, aged seventy years. His wife was Hannah Eck of Briar-creek township, Columbia County, and they were the parents of the following children: Anna, widow of Baltis Girton of Hemlock township, and now a resident of Aledo, Ill.; Emma, who died young; Uzilla, widow of James Strong, who was killed in the blowing-up of Fort Fisher; Mary, who resides at Orangeville, Columbia County; Horace, a miller of Wyalusing, Bradford County; and Joseph E., the father of our subject. Joseph E. Sands was born, March 11, 1811, in Mifflin township, Columbia County, Pa., at Brown's Mills; when but a boy he found employment in the Briarcreek Woolen Mills. Becoming thoroughly acquainted with the manufacture of woolen goods, he erected a factory one mile north of the village of Rohrsburg, Columbia County, and there engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods on his own account. His factory was operated by water power and, in 1857, when the water supply gave out, he built the Sands Woolen Mills at Mordansville, into which he moved his old machinery and successfully followed his business until his death, on February 24, 1881, at Philadelphia; he and our subject, his son, were in that city at the time purchasing goods when the elder Mr. Sands succumbed to a stroke of apoplexy. Originally Mr. Sands was a Whig in politics, but later a Republican, and in 1875 was elected county commissioner over the opposing candidate by a majority of 2,800 votes. He was one of the commissioners who supervised the construction of the present county jail. He was a member of the Masonic Order and the I. O. O. F.; he joined the state militia to repel the invasion of Gen. Lee in 1863. Like his ancestors, he was a member of the Society of Friends. He was joined in marriage with Esther Lundy, a daughter of Reuben Lundy, a farmer of Millville, Pa., and to this union eight children were born, namely: John, a farmer of Rohrsburg, who died in 1880; Henry Harrison, a soldier in the Civil War, was a member of the 132d Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., nine months and served one year in the 210th Pa. Regiment, and took part in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, South Mountain, Chancellorsville, Grand Forks, and many other notable engagements; William E., also a veteran of the Civil War, now engaged in farming in Mt. Pleasant township, Columbia County, Pa.; Thomas E., a retired woolen manufacturer, who was also a soldier in the Civil War; Annie Margaret, deceased, who was the wife of Webster W. Eves, a member of the firm of Ellis Eves & Bros., merchants of Millville, Pa.; Charles L., our subject; Joseph H., an oil producer and president of the gas company at Bowling Green, Ohio; and James P., deceased. Charles L. Sands received his elementary education in the common schools and at Greenwood Seminary. He then followed the occupation of a farmer for two years, and in 1875 went to Millville, where he was engaged in the livery business and ran a stage line from that village to Bloomsburg. In 1880 he became a resident of Mordansville, and in the following year purchased the woolen mills, which he conducted alone until 1886, when he took W. R. Hagenbach and M. J. Elder into the business. In 1898 Mr. Elder retired from the business and the firm name has since been C. L. Sands & Company. Mr. Sands is an ardent Republican in politics, and in 1891 he was one of the county commissioners who supervised the building of the county court-house; he also served as mercantile appraiser in 1888, and he has served as justice of the peace since 1884. He is a member and past master of Washington Lodge No. 265, F. & A. M., of Bloomsburg; and a member of Camp No. 17, P. O. S. of A. He belongs to the Society of Friends. Mr. Sands was married May 13, 1871, to Mary Zeigler, daughter of the late Daniel Zeigler of Mt. Pleasant, and this union was blessed by three children: Maude, the wife of Harry Johnson, a farmer of Madison township; Maggie, united in marriage to Allen Eves, a farmer; and Joseph E., a merchant of Mordansville. Mr. Sands' portrait is shown on another page in this work. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District Published by Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899) This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb