Baron József Rudics Sr. (Subotica, 22.1. 1792 – Bácsalmás, 21. 8. 1879) was a sheriff, a landowner etc. His parents were Petronella Vojnich and Ivan. He finished his education in Pest: gaining a doctorate of philosophy in 1809 and becoming a doctor of law in 1816. He started his official career in 1825 when he was elected for deputy clerk of Bács County. During 1832, he was appointed for deputy sheriff and also for a representative of the Hungarian Parliament in Bratislava. He became a royal advisor and the administrator of Bács County in 1837. In the period from 1841 to 1848, he was the first man of the county government. He held the same function from 1861 to 1862 and in 1867. He was appointed for a secret internal advisor on 17th April 1867 when he resigned from the honour of sheriff. He received a number of awards for his public activities: Emperor Ferdinand V appointed him to knight of the golden spur in 1830, he received the Papal Order of the Cross of St. Gregory in 1845, he got the baronial dignity for free on the wedding of Franz Joseph I (1854), during the coronation of Franz Joseph he was entrusted to carry the Serbian flag, he was appointed to a honorary member of the Royal Academy in 1873, the Hungarian barony was given him in 1874. He was a patron of literature and arts, helping the publishing of books (Subatički glasnik, 16.8.1873). From his marriage with Josipa Vojnich, they got their sons, János (ca. 1827–1851) and József Jr. (10.8.1828 – Breitensee, 12.10.1885), while from his marriage with Teréz Vojnich he got his daughter, Perka (? – 7.6.1875), wife of count Imre Szapári.
Mirko Grlica