Ethel Sands was born on 6 July 1873 in Newport, Rhode Island, the first child of Mary Morton Hartpence and Mahlon Sands, who married in 1872.
 Mahlon Sands was secretary of the American Free Trade League, who in 1870 advocated for civil service reform and free trade.
He was partner of his deceased father's pharmaceutical importing firm, A.B. Sands and Company.
Ethel had two younger brothers, Mahlong Alan and Morton Harcourt Sands, who were respectively 5 and 11 years younger than Ethel.

In 1874 the family left the United States for England, intending to only visit the country.
However, Mahlon Sands and his family stayed in England and travelled among European countries.
They also visited the United States annually and were there for an extended visit from 1877 to 1879.
They kept their house in Newport, Rhode Island throughout this time.

The wealthy Sands circulated amongst London society, including writer and statesman John Morley, politician William Ewart Gladstone, writer Henry James, artist John Singer Sargent, the Rothschild family, and Henry Graham White.
Mahlon's sister, Katherine, was married to journalist and newspaper editor Edwin Lawrence Godkin.
They were part of Edward VII, then Prince of Wales', social circle.
John Singer Sargent painted the portrait of her mother's portrait, who was considered "a famous society beauty of her day."
Mary Sands was "much admired" by writer Henry James, who called her "that gracious lady" and based his heroic character "Madame de Mauves" on her.

Ethel Sands was raised in a respectable upper-class household in which her parents were "happily married".
While her father was considered handsome and her mother beautiful, Anthony Powell states that some people wrote in their diaries and letters that she was plain.
In her later years, Powell met her and said that "so great was her elegance, charm, capacity to be amusing in a no-nonsense manner, that I could well believed her to be good-looking in her youth.

Her father had ridden horseback through Hyde Park, was thrown from the horse and died an accidental death in 1888.
His widow, Mary Sands, raised Ethel and her brothers until her death on 28 July 1896.
Ethel Sands was born on 6 July 1873 in Newport, Rhode Island, the first child of Mary Morton Hartpence and Mahlon Sands, who married in 1872.  Mahlon Sands was secretary of the American Free Trade League, who in 1870 advocated for civil service reform and free trade. He was partner of his deceased father's pharmaceutical importing firm, A.B. Sands and Company. Ethel had two younger brothers, Mahlong Alan and Morton Harcourt Sands, who were respectively 5 and 11 years younger than Ethel.
In 1874 the family left the United States for England, intending to only visit the country. However, Mahlon Sands and his family stayed in England and travelled among European countries. They also visited the United States annually and were there for an extended visit from 1877 to 1879. They kept their house in Newport, Rhode Island throughout this time.
The wealthy Sands circulated amongst London society, including writer and statesman John Morley, politician William Ewart Gladstone, writer Henry James, artist John Singer Sargent, the Rothschild family, and Henry Graham White. Mahlon's sister, Katherine, was married to journalist and newspaper editor Edwin Lawrence Godkin. They were part of Edward VII, then Prince of Wales', social circle. John Singer Sargent painted the portrait of her mother's portrait, who was considered "a famous society beauty of her day." Mary Sands was "much admired" by writer Henry James, who called her "that gracious lady" and based his heroic character "Madame de Mauves" on her.
Ethel Sands was raised in a respectable upper-class household in which her parents were "happily married". While her father was considered handsome and her mother beautiful, Anthony Powell states that some people wrote in their diaries and letters that she was plain. In her later years, Powell met her and said that "so great was her elegance, charm, capacity to be amusing in a no-nonsense manner, that I could well believed her to be good-looking in her youth.
Her father had ridden horseback through Hyde Park, was thrown from the horse and died an accidental death in 1888. His widow, Mary Sands, raised Ethel and her brothers until her death on 28 July 1896.
Ethel Sands