The Mercado - Rizal Family

The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-co, the family's paternal
ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy, China in the closing years of
the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa.

Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Even
Negrito blood aside from Chinese.

Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso
Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.

FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offspring of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna
on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila.

TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the
Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read.
She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila.

SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.

PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and
later a general of the Philippine Revolution.

NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) 
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.

OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.

LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.

MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30,1896.

CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)
The eight child. Died at the age of three.

JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.

TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.

SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.
Orignally surnamed Mercado, the Rizal family, as it became later known, was one of the prominent and
influential families of Calamba. The Mercados acquired their fortune through the industry of
bothFrancisco and Teodora. They were the first to build a bahay na bato to own a carruaje (horse-drawn
carriage); to maintain a personal library; and to send their children to colleges in Manila.

Aside from being one of the wealthiest families in the town, they were also highly esteemed and were known
for being hospitable and cultured, participating in many social, cultural and religious gatherings and events in
their community.

Rizal's ancestry and parents

Running in Rizal’s blood were mixtures of different races. Austin Craig accounted that Rizal had a trace of
chinese ancestry that came from a businessman named Domingo Lam-Co, the ancestor of Rizal’s father, who
was born in Chinchew, China. From Amoy, China where he was residing then, Lam-Co migrated to and
invested in the Philippines in the late 17th century and married a half-breed Chinese-Filipina named Ines dela
Rosa.

Rizal apparently came from a Chinese-Filipino descent – Francisco Mercado Y Chinco. Francisco Mercado
was born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818. He took up Philosophy and Latin in the Colegio de San Jose in
Manila. After his parents’ death, he moved to Calamba. There he became a tenant farmer of the Dominican-
owned hacienda and later became one of the town’s wealthiest men. He was able to establish a private library
and kept carriage. The name ‘Francisco’ was in high honor in Laguna for it had belonged to a famous sea
captain who had been given the ENCOMIENDA of BAY for his services.

Rizal’s mother Teodora Alonso came from the clan of Lakan Dula, known as the last Malay king of Tondo. She
was also traced to Eugenio Ursua whose ancestors came from Japan. She was the second daughter
of Lorenzo Alberto Alonso who was a former representative of Spanish Cortes and Brigida de Quintos whose
parents were Manuel de Quintos, of a well-known family in Pangasinan and Regina Ursua who was the
daughter of Benigna and Eugene Ursua.

As already noted, Teodora Alonso had a trace of Japanese ancestry. Moreover, she was of Ilocano-Tagalog-
Chinese-Spanish descent. Combining the paternal and maternal ancestry, therefore Jose Rizal was born with
Malay, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish lineages in his blood. Teodora Alonzo died on August 16, 1911 at the
age of 84.

Rizal's surname

Domingo Lam-Co, the great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal, decided to use Mercado as his surname in 1731
to match his profession, being a merchant. He used this surname from 1731 to November 11, 1849 as soon as
Governor-General Narciso Claveria posed a regulation that requires them to make use of Spanish family
names. Meanwhile, for Don Francisco Mercado, Rizal’s father, Rizal was used, which means new pasture or
greenfield.

Family Traditions

The Rizal family’s traditions are bound by spirituality and firm moral ground. Everyday, they used to gather to
pray the rosary. Their mother would often tell the children to gather up so they can say their prayers together.

They were filled with obedience, virtue, as well as mutual respect and love for each other, especially for their
parents. The Rizal children addressed their parents as “Tatay” and “Nanay”.

Hence, when Jose lost his little sister Concha in 1865, he grieved bitterly. For the first time, according to him,
he cried because of sorrow and love.

The children also learned a lot from their first teacher, their mother Dona Teodora. She was loving, kind, and
indulgent, but can be a true disciplinarian. There was actually one occasion when Jose refused to wear a
sinamay camisa since it was rough and coarse. Because of his disobedience, his mother spanked him. Hence,
he learned his lesson so well.
Aside from this, Dona Teodora also taught her children to read the Bible. She translated those passages they
did not understand to inculcate in them the value of spirituality and goodness out of reading the Holy Scripture.

Family Members

A family of 13, they are paternally of Chinese ancestry and maternally descendants of a maharlika class. Jose
Rizal was a mestizo from both East and West with blood from native, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish races.

 Francisco Mercado (b. May 11, 1818 – d. January 5, 1898), the father of Jose Rizal and considered
the patriarch of the family, was a native of Biñan, Laguna. He was an educated and industrious farmer
who studied Latin and philosophy at 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 the
Filipina 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 Biñan. 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. In 1850 he petitioned the court to change the family name to Rizal, with all their children
being surnamed as such.

 Teodora Alonzo Realonda (b. November 8, 1826 – d. August 16, 1911), a Manileña, was a highly
educated Filipina who graduated from the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Of Spanish and Japanese ancestry,
Teodora was a talented woman whose interests lay in literature, culture, and business, and was well-
versed in Spanish. She helped her husband in farming and in their business. She devoted herself to the
children's education and growth as morally-upright 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 belonged to Biñan's long list of
Capitanes. 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 Brigida de Quintos, a fair and well-educated lady. With her vision failing in old age, her son took up
medicine, specializing in opthalmologoy, in order to cure her.

 Saturnina Rizal (1850 – 1913), also known as “Neneng,” was the eldest of the Rizal children. She
married Manuel Hidalgo, affectionately called "Maneng" by Rizal, who was a native
of Tanauan,Batangas.

 Paciano Rizal (b. March 7, 1851 – d. 1930) was the elder and only brother of Jose Rizal. Being a
decade older than Rizal, Paciano became a second father to his sibling. He succeeded in sending the
young Jose (Pepe) to Europe to study, giving the latter 700 pesos upon departure. During the younger
years Paciano would continue supporting his brother financially. After the death of Jose, Paciano joined
the Revolution and was later appointed general of the revolutionary forces in Laguna. His common-law
wife was Severina Decena. He died in Los Baños, Laguna on April 13, 1930. Their only childEmiliana
Rizal married her first cousin Antonio Rizal Lopez Jr., the son of Narcisa Rizal with Antonio Lopez Sr.

Paternal Ancestors

 Domingo Lam-Co, the family root, arrived from Amoy, China in 1660s and changed his name to
Mercado in 1697. He married late in life.

 Francisco Mercado y Chinco, the first son of Domingo Lam-co.

 Juan Mercado y Monica, youngest son of Francisco Mercado y Chinco, a captain in the Spanish army

 Petrona, Potenciana and Francisco Mercado, Sr., children of Juan Mercado. The youngest Francisco
Mercado, Sr. was the father of Jose Rizal, Francisco Mercado (Junior).
Influential Relatives

Jose’s relatives who influenced him greatly mostly consisted of his mother’s brothers: Tio Jose, Tio Manuel,
and Tio Gregorio.

 Tio Jose - He is the youngest among the siblings of Teodora, and was schooled in Calcutta, India. He
was Jose Rizal’s inspiration as he sketches and paints. Tio Jose encouraged him to engage in
sculpturing.

 Tio Manuel - Known to be big and strong, he influenced Jose to visit the outdoors, do long walks with
his pet black dog, Usman, and even go horseback riding with his horse, castaño.

 Tio Gregorio - Through his Tio Gregorio, Jose learned the value of hard work, careful observation of
life, as well as independent thinking. Through him, Jose likewise became interested in the printed page.