Sandys Parish was named for Sir Edwin Sandys (1561-1629), the second son of Archbishop Edwin Sandys of York (died 1588) by his second wife. Sir Sandys was educated at Oxford, became a member of parliament for Andover in 1586, accompanied King James from Scotland on his triumphal progress through England when he came to the throne on the death of Elizabeth, and was knighted by King James I in 1603. The royal favor was withdrawn the same year when it was noted that he had nonconformist sympathies. He became a member of the Virginia Company in 1607 and was personally responsible for the emigration of many families. He was also suspected of encouraging republicanism in those parts. By 1614, he was involved in colonial affairs, first with the East India Company and Virginia Company, and later the Somers Island Company. He replaced Sir Thomas Smith in 1619 as head of the Bermuda Company. Charges by the Earl of Warwick's group together with the Smith faction that Sandys had expanded the Virginia Company without adequate provision and that 5000 settlers had died as a result, led to a feud that tore apart the Virginia Company and brought about its dissolution in 1629. In 1621 he was imprisoned for hiding the truth of the conditions in Vriginia but released after a few weeks.