He was born in Večeslavci (Prekmurje), near the Styrian border.
His father was Iván Szijjártó, a Slovene peasant.
Szijjártó studied in Nemescsó and in Sopron, at the Lutheran lyceum (?–1783).
[clarification needed] He later worked in Domanjševci, where he died.
In 1796, his hymnal Mrtvecsne Peszmi (Dirges) was published.