When Sanford Tracy was born on 20 July 1762, in Preston, New London, Connecticut, United States, his father, Ezra Tracy, was 29 and his mother, Jemima Kimball, was 24. He married Betsey Bliss on 11 November 1787. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 27 March 1840, in Austerlitz, Columbia, New York, United States, at the age of 77, and was buried in Spencertown Cemetery, Spencertown, Austerlitz, Columbia, New York, United States.