János was born in October 1877 in Vál and his baptism took place there on October 14th, 1877.12 János' father was János Körtvélyesy and his mother was Erzsébet Szerencsés. His paternal grandparents were József Körtvélyesi and Julianna Horváth. He had a brother and a sister, named József and Mária. He was the second oldest of the three children.