- Family -
Don Francisco Rizal Mercado was born on May 11, 1818 and was the youngest of his 13 siblings. Mercado was a well respected man in their home town of Calamba in which citizens made him the their "cabeza de barangay" (head of town.) He was of part Chinese descent, having been related to a Chinese entrepreneur by the name of Domingo Lamco. Mercado die shortly after Rizal in the home of his daughter, Narcisa Rizal in Binondo, Manila on January 5, 1898.
Dona Teodora Alonso was born on November 14, 1827 in Santa Cruz Manila. Her parents were Lorenzo Alonso, a municipal captain and Brijida de Quintos, an educated housewife and had four other siblings . It is said that her great grandfather, Eugenio Ursua was of Japanese ancestry making her of Japanese descent. When Teodora was 20 years old, she married Francisco Mercado, a native from Binan, Laguna. Together they prospered in Calamba after involving themselves in business and agriculture. She was known to be a hardworking, intelligent, business minded woman. She died in 1913 in Manila.
Saturnina Mercado Rizal Hidalgo was born in 1818 and was the eldest sister of Jose Rizal. She had five children together with husband Manuel T. Hidalgo and died the same year as her mother in 1913.
General Paciano Mercado Rizal aka "Lolo Ciano" was the only brother of Jose Rizal. He was born in 1851 and studied in Binan later attending school at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila. After the execution of his brother, he joined in the Philippine Revolution where he rose up to the ranks of a General. He later married Severina Decena of Los Banos and had two children of which one died at an early age. Paciano passed away in 1930.
Narcisa Rizal Lopez was born in 1852 and was the one who found the unmarked grave of her brother, Jose in the abandoned Old Paco Cemetery. Narcisa married Antonio Lopez who was a teacher and musician from Morong, Rizal. She died in 1938.
Olympia Rizal Ubaldo was born in 1855. She married Silvestre Ubaldo and together they had three children. She died in 1887 when she was only 32 years old.
Lucia Rizal Herbosa was born in 1857. She married Mariano Herbosa and had 5 children together. In 1889 Mariano died due to an epidemic but was denied a Christian burial. This was due to the fact that he was the brother in law of Jose Rizal. This showed the beginning of the persecution of the Rizal family by Spanish friars. Lucia died in 1919.
Maria Cruz Rizal was born in 1855. She married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna and together they had 5 children. Mauricio Cruz, one of Maria's children became a student of Jose Rizal in Dapitan and was known to be one of his uncle's favorites. Maria was a known recipient of many od Jose's letters during his lifetime. Maria died in 1945.
Concepcion Rizal was born in 1862. Concepcion did not live very long as she died at the age of 3 in 1865.
Josefa Rizal was born in 1865. She was unmarried lived together with sister Trinidad until death. Josefa was said to have suffered from epilepsy. She died in 1945.
Trinidad Rizal was born in 1868. She remained unmarried and lived together with her sister Josefa. Trinidad was the one who recieved an alcohol lamp from brother Jose, in which he secretly hid the "Last Farewell" better known as "Mi Ultimos Adios," a poem Rizal wrote on the eve of his death in 1896. Trinidad died in 1951, outliving all her siblings.
Soledad Rizal Quintero was born in 1870 making her the youngest of the Rizal siblings. She married Pantaleon Quintero and together they had 5 children. Soledad died in 1929.