George Earle
Lived on Grays Lane in Haverford. He was elected Governor in 1934.
John C. Bell
Lived on Mansion Lane in Wynnewood. Attended Episcopal Academy, in Merion. Buried at St. Asaphs’s Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.
He was elected as Lt. Governor in 1942. On January 2, 1947, then-Governor Edward Martin resigned as Governor to become a U.S. Senator. On that same day Bell was inaugurated as Governor. He held the position until January 21, 1947, when James H. Duff became Governor.
Notwithstanding his record-breaking brief tenure as Governor, Bell had a long career in public service. He became a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1952, and was Chief Justice from 1961 until he retired in 1972.
John C. Bell’s brother was Bert Bell, founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and former Commissioner of the NFL.
Milton Shapp
Lived at 626 Bowman Avenue in Merion
Unlike Bell, who was never elected, and Earle, who was elected by a razor-thin margin, Milt from Merion in 1970 defeated Raymond Broderick (he was Lt. Governor at that time) by more than 500,000.
Similar to Earle, Shapp’s neighbors in Lower Merion didn’t do much to help him achieve his landslide win. Broderick carried the township by 2,314 votes, winning 20 of 34 precincts. Narberth was even more solid for Broderick. Shapp did manage to hold Broderick to a tie at his own polling place in Merion.