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We continue an occasional feature in which we recognize the Revolutionary War patriots whose service to our country we honor with our participation in the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution.

PSSR members: Dr. Edwin Sipler Hart III and Edward Sipler Hart IV

Dr. Edwin Sipler Hart, III originally from Philadelphia, is life member of the PSSR and current historian. He is pictured with his son – and President George Washington – at the recent George Washington’s Birthday Ball. Dr Hart is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and in his free time enjoys fly-fishing and genealogy.

Edwin Sipler Hart IV, also a life member, is a resident of Bethlehem PA. He is an active Freemason and an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fly-fishing, upland bird hunting, photography, and camping. Mr. Hart has a long and vested interest in American history, especially the colonial era and the American Revolution.

Ancestor: Philip Sypler

Philip Sypler was a farmer in Bucks County, PA. He resided at Dunks Ferry. This is the location of the ferry used to cross the Delaware River in those days. He served as a private in the battalion of Col. John Keller. Philip was born on an unknown date, but he appears in county census records in 1754. He died at Dunks Ferry in 1791. His Dunks Ferry farm was 54.75 acres. We do not know exactly what he farmed at that time.

Our family has been associated with the PSSR since the early 1900s when my father’s uncle Gustavus Noel Hart joined under Philip Sypler’s service record. My father, Edwin Sipler Jr., mentioned his desire to join the PSSR, but with the time he spent raising a family in the 1950s and ’60s he was unable to make it happen. Later in his life, my father and I together did the legwork to allow father, son and grandson to join in 1999. The Harts joined under a first multigenerational application: Edwin Sipler Hart Jr., III and IV.

Question to Ed: What does it mean to have Philip Sypler as your ancestor?

I am often asked, why do you keep using the same name over and over? It is a good question, but the real answer lies in the Hart family history. Ephriam Hart was the first of the family in the colonies. He was a Jew from Furth, Bavaria. Ephriam also served during the Revolution in the PA militia. His grandson Gustavus Adolphus Hart married Mary P. Sipler, a Methodist, and thereafter the descendants were of the Christian faith. Second, the Sipler tree works its way back to Sarah De Raphalie, the first white female born in New Amsterdam. So there you have it as to why we honor one of our patriots: Philip Sypler, a simple farmer from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who served the cause.

To any of our Society member who may be interested in writing an article about your Sons ancestor, please feel free to contact the office to find out more. You may email us at [email protected]