Sandys and his brothers may be the "Sandes" who appear in the registers of Eton College, in which case Edwin Sandys attended 1574–1575.[2] He entered the Middle Temple in 1579.[1]
On 2 June 1586 he married Elizabeth Sandys, daughter of William, 3rd Baron Sandys of The Vyne.[1] (Despite the name, the two families had different origins: the family of Archbishop Sandys originated in Cumbria, while the Barons Sandys had their seat at The Vyne, Hampshire.[3]) They had three sons, of which the youngest, but the only one to leave children, was Colonel Henry Sandys, 5th Baron Sandys.[1]
Sandys was elected MP for Andover in 1586, but sat in only one Parliament. In the following Parliament of 1589, Sandys was replaced by his brother-in-law Thomas Temple.
