József was born on March 22nd, 1787 in Földes. József's father was János Körtvélyesi and his mother was Anna Szabó. His paternal grandparents were Zsigmond Körtvélyesi and <Unknown>. He had a brother and a sister, named István and Zsuzsanna. He was the second oldest of the three children. He died at the age of 69 on May 16th, 1856 in Földes.