Michael was born on April 17th, 1866 in Clonmoyle, Cork, Ireland and his baptism took place on April 18th, 1866. Michael's father was James Brew and his mother was Margaret Murphy. His paternal grandfather was Jeremiah and his paternal grandmother is <Unknown>. He had two brothers and five sisters, named Jeremiah, Dennis , Mary, Margaret, Mary, Johanna and Bridget. He was the fourth youngest of the eight children.