József was born on February 24th, 1837 in Makó and his baptism took place there on February 25th, 1837.1 József's father was Sámuel Körtvélyesi and his mother was Katalin Kotsis. His paternal grandparents were Sámuel Körtvélyesi and Erzsébet Csala. He had two sisters named Erzsébet and Julianna. He was the second oldest of the three children.