He was born on 9 January 1834 at Courtfield, Ross, Herefordshire, England, second son of the fourteen children. Five of his brothers also became priests. Herbert, the eldest, became a cardinal and archbishop of Westminster, and John, the youngest, auxiliary bishop of Salford. Another brother, Reginald, married Julia Shanahan, sister-in-law of Sir Patrick Jennings. Four of his five sisters became nuns.