Early Life
Michel Ney was born in Saarlouis, the second son of Pierre Ney (1738–1826), a master barrel-cooper and veteran of the Seven Years' War, and of his wife Margarethe Grewelinger (1739–1791). Ney was the paternal grandson of Matthias Ney (1700–1780) and wife Margarethe Becker (d. 1767), and the maternal grandson of Valentin Grewelinger and wife Margaretha Ding. His hometown at the time of his birth comprised a French-speaking enclave in a predominantly German-speaking portion of Lorraine, and Ney grew up bilingual.
Ney was educated at the Collège des Augustins, and subsequently became a notary in Saarlouis, and then overseer of mines and forges.
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