Topic: Family

Intended Learning Outcomes

Trace Rizal’s ancestry and identify the family members

Content
Birth and Family Life
Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 as the seventh child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9
girls). It was a Wednesday evening in Calamba, Laguna, and his mother nearly died in the
process. He was baptized three days later, on June 22, by the parish priest of the Catholic church
in his town, Fr. Rufino Collantes from Batangas. His godfather, Fr. Pedro Casanas, was a close
family friend. Rizal's mother named him after St. Joseph, to whom she was ardently devoted.

RIZAL'S BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE

His baptismal certificate reads:

"I, the undersigned parish priest of Calamba, certify that from the investigation made with
proper authority, for replacing the parish books which were burned September 28, 1862, to
be found in Docket No. 1 of Baptisms, p.49, it appears by the sworn testimony of competent
witnesses that Jose Rizal Mercado is the legitimate son, and of lawful wedlock, of Don
Francisco Rizal Mercado and Dona Teodora Realonda, having been baptized in this parish
on the 22nd day of June in the years 1861, by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes, Rev.
Pedro Casanas being his godfather. -- Witness my signature."

(Signed): Leoncio Lopez

Francisco Mercado Rizal was born on May 11, 1818 in Binan, Laguna. He was a graduate of the
College of San Jose in Manila, studying Latin and Philosophy. Francisco moved to Calamba to
become a tenant-farmer of a hacienda owned by the Dominicans. He died at the age of 80 on
January 5, 1898 in Manila. About his father, Jose Rizal says that he is "a model of fathers."

Teodora Alonso Realonda was born on November 8, 1826 in Manila. She was a graduate of the
College of Santa Rosa. She died at the age of 85 on August 16, 1911 in Manila. She was the first
teacher of Jose Rizal, who taught him how to read and pray and had encouraged him to write
poetry. About his mother, Jose Rizal says, "My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture;
she knows literature and speaks Spanish better than I. She corrected my poems and gave me
good advice when I was studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has read many books."
Shortly before her death, the Philippine government offered her a life pension. She courteously
rejected it saying, “My family has never been patriotic for money. If the government has plenty of
funds and does not know what to do with them, better reduce the taxes.” Such remarks truly
befitted her as a worthy mother of a national hero.

• Of all his sisters, Jose loved little Concepcion best. She was only a year younger than
him, and fell ill and died at the age of 3.
• The death of his sister was Jose's first grief.
• Jose and his father went on a pilgrimage to Antipolo on June 6, 1868 so that they could
 fulfill his mother's vow, which she made when Jose was born. Teodora could not join them
on this pilgrimage because she had given birth to Jose's sister Trinidad.
• After the pilgrimage, Jose went with his father to Manila where they visited his sister
Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at La Concordia College in Santa Ana.
THE SURNAME
Mercado was the original surname of the Rizal family. The Chinese immigrant ancestor added the
name Mercado, with the name “Rizal” was of a then more recent vintage. Domingo Lamco, Jose's
great-great-grandfather, adopted the name Rizal in 1731 and it became a second surname of the
family after Governor General Narciso Clavería Zaldúa decreed the adoption of Spanish
surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes . In Jose's letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt, he
says:

"I am the only Rizal in because at home my parents, my sisters my brother, and my relatives have
always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our family name was in fact Mercado, but there were
many Mercados in the Philippines who are not related to us. It is said that an alcalde mayor, who
was a friend of our family added Rizal to our name. My family did not pay much attention to this,
but now I have to use it. In this way, it seems that I am an illegitimate son."

Reference: Life and Works of Rizal retrieved from http://thelifeandworksofrizal.blogspot.com

Jose rizal biography from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jose-Rizal