Above a painting showing daily life in Gustavia, the capitol of Saint Barthélemy, the island in the West Indies that once belonged to Sweden - Sjöhistoriska museet (the Maritime Museum).
George Sands was born in Saint Barthélemy (St. Barths), West Indies, and would first ship when he was 22 years old. He would spend 5 years working on US Navy Ships, 29 years on merchant sailing ships, and 1 year on a steamship. Two of these years would be on ships registered outside the US. George Sands was a sailor.
The last ship that George Sands would serve on was the American Eagle in 1857. The American Eagle was an American packet ship that worked between New York and London. The American Eagle was a part of the Black X Line formed by John Griswald in the early 19th century. By the 1850s, the ship was moving both cargo and immigrant families.
American Eagle Oil painting. Source: Carl C. Cutler, Queens of the Western Ocean; The Story of America's Mail and Passenger Sailing Lines (Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, 1961 - Palmer List of Merchant Vessels
George Sands would enter Sailors Snug Harbor on March 26, 1858. He would remain at he Harbor for 12 years, dying at 64 years old. George Sands is buried in Sailors Snug Harbor Cemetery in Plot 1; see Cemetery Map.