Harmon J. Shafer is a son of David and Catherine (Sloggy) Shafer, and was born in Pennsylvania in 1840, being the youngest of five children, two sons and two daughters living. The father was of French extraction, born in Pennsylvania in 1807, lived in his native State nearly all of his life, and was a good business man, and was a butcher and stock trader at Pittsburgh for a great many years, and was postmaster at New Castle, Penn., during Polk's administration. He became a man of considerable means. In 1875 he came to Sumner County on a visit, and died here. The mother was also a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in 1806 and died in 1877. Our subject was raised and educated in Pennsylvania. In 1865 he married Miss Margaret A., daughter of John and Mary Haffey, of Pittsburgh, where Mrs. Shafer was born. They had six children, one son and three daughters living: David Charles, Margaret, Ellen, Kate and Ida Lewis. Mr. Shafer commenced business as a stock dealer at Pittsburgh, which he continued until 1867, and in 1869 moved to Sumner County and located south of Gallatin on the Cumberland River. In 1882 he purchased his present farm of 304 acres of rich land, five miles west of Gallatin, between Nashville and Gallatin pike. Politically, he is a Democrat; his first presidential vote was for McClellan in 1864. Mrs. Shafer is a member of the Catholic Church; he is a valuable citizen of the county.