István was born on December 20th, 1853 in Zámoly Győr vm and his baptism took place there on December 21st, 1853.1 István's father was József Körtvélesi and his mother was Erzsébet Tóth. He had three brothers and three sisters, named József, Gábor, János, Teréz, Rozália and Anna. He was the fourth oldest of the seven children.