János was born on November 11th, 1843 in Tiszabura.1 János' father was Sándor Körtvély and his mother was Sára Tarkó. He had a brother and two sisters, named Sándor, Mária and Sára. He was the second oldest of the four children. He had a half-brother and a half-sister, named László and Klára. He died at the age of 56 on July 17th, 1900.