Rizals Family Tree

A family of 13 members, they are paternally of Chinese ancestry and maternally descendants of a maharlika class. Jose Rizal was a typical mixed-blood from both East and West acquiring a blood from al Negrito, Malay, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish races. Francisco Mercado (b. May 11, 1818 - d. January 5, 1898), a native of Binan, Laguna, was the Chinese-Filipino father of Jose Rizal. He was an educated and industrious farmer who studied Latin and Philosophy at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila. Of Chinese ancestry, his great grandfather Domingo Lam-co was a native of Chinchew (now Quanzhou), China who married a Filipina named Ines de la Rosa. One of the couples' children was Francisco Mercado, who later married Cerila Bernacha. Bernacha gave birth to Juan Mercado who became Cerila Alejandro's husband and Francisco's father. Both Francisco's father, Juan, and grandfather, Francisco, became Capitanes or town mayors of Bian. Upon the death of his mother, Francisco moved to Calamba where he became a tenant and farmer of a large Dominican estate. On 28 June 1848, he married Teodora Alonzo Realonda. Teodora Alonzo Realonda (b. November 8, 1826 - d. August 16, 1911), a Manilena, was a highly educated Filipina who graduated from the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Of Spanish and Japanese ancestry, Teodora was a talented woman who knows literature, culture, and business, and was well-versed in Spanish. She helped her husband in farming and in their business, and had dedicatedly looked after their children's education and growth as morallyupright individuals. Teodora's lineage can be traced to Lakandula, the greatest ruler of Tondo. Her great grandfather, who was of Japanese blood, was Eugenio Ursua (Ochoa). Her maternal grandfather was Manuel de Quintos who was a popular lawyer in his time, while her paternal grandfather was Cipriano Alonso who belong to Bian's long list of Capitans. Teodora was second child of Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo, an engineer and a recipient of the most sought decoration, the Knight of the Grand Order of Isabela the Catholic and Order of Carlos III; and Brijida de Quintos, a fair and well-educated lady. Saturnina Rizal (1850 - 1913), also known as Neneng, was the eldest of the Rizal children. She married Manuel T. Hidalgo, affectionately called "Maneng" by Rizal, who was a native of Tanauan, Batangas. Paciano Rizal (b. March 7, 1851 - d. 1930) was the oldest and only brother of Jose Rizal. Being a decade older than Rizal, Paciano became a second father to his younger brother. He succeeded in sending the young Pepe to Europe to study, giving the latter 700 pesos upon its departure and continued supporting his brother financially. After the death of Jose, Paciano decided to join the Revolution and was later appointed as the military commander of the revolutionary forces in Laguna. He died a bachelor, old and unwed.

Narcisa Rizal (1852 - 1939) was the third child of Francisco and Teodora. She was a teacher and a musician by profession, and married Antonio Lopez who was a school teacher in Morong, Rizal. Olympia Rizal (1855 - 1939) was the fourth child of the brood who married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila. Lucia Rizal (1857 - 1919) was the fifth child of the Rizal family who was married to Mariano Herbosa of Calamba. Maria Rizal (1859 - 1945) was the sixth of the eleven children who married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna. Concepcion Rizal (1862 - 1865), also known as Concha, was the eight child of the Rizals, who died at the age of three. Josefa Rizal (1865 - 1945) was the ninth of the 11 Rizal children who died an old maid. Trinidad Rizal (1868 - 1951) was the tenth child who, like Josefa, died an old maid. Soledad Rizal (1870 - 1929) was the youngest of the brood who later married Pantaleon Quintero, a native of Calamba.