RIZAL’S ANCESTORS

José Rizal was born in 1861 to Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Alonso Realonda y
Quintos in the town of Calamba in Laguna province. He had nine sisters and one brother. His parents
were leaseholders of a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans. Both their families
had adopted the additional surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849, after Governor General Narciso
Clavería y Zaldúa decreed the adoption of Spanish surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes
(though they already had Spanish names).

Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals were of mixed mestizo origin. José's patrilineal lineage
could be traced back to Fujian in China through his father's ancestor Lam-Co, a Hokkien Chinese
merchant who immigrated to the Philippines in the late 17th century.[12][13][note 1][14] Lam-Co
traveled to Manila from Xiamen, China, possibly to avoid the famine or plague in his home district, and
more probably to escape the Manchu invasion during the Transition from Ming to Qing. He finally
decided to stay in the islands as a farmer. In 1697, to escape the bitter anti-Chinese prejudice that
existed in the Philippines, he converted to Catholicism, changed his name to Domingo Mercado and
married the daughter of Chinese friend Augustin Chin-co. On his mother's side, Rizal's ancestry included
Chinese, Japanese and Tagalog blood. His mother's lineage can be traced to the affluent Florentina
family of Chinese mestizo families originating in Baliuag, Bulacan.[15] He also had Spanish ancestry.
Regina Ochoa, a grandmother of his mother, Teodora, had mixed Spanish, Chinese and Tagalog blood.
His grandfather was a half Spaniard engineer named Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo.[16]

From an early age, José showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at 3,
and could read and write at age 5.[13] Upon enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he dropped
the last three names that made up his full name, on the advice of his brother, Paciano and the Mercado
family, thus rendering his name as "José Protasio Rizal". Of this, he later wrote: "My family never paid
much attention [to our second surname Rizal], but now I had to use it, thus giving me the appearance of
an illegitimate child!"[17] This was to enable him to travel freely and disassociate him from his brother,
who had gained notoriety with his earlier links to Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and
Jacinto Zamora (popularly known as Gomburza) who had been accused and executed for treason.

Rizal's house in Calamba, Laguna

Despite the name change, José, as "Rizal", soon distinguished himself in poetry writing contests,
impressing his professors with his facility with Castilian and other foreign languages, and later, in writing
essays that were critical of the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine societies.
Indeed, by 1891, the year he finished his El filibusterismo, this second surname had become so well
known that, as he writes to another friend, "All my family now carry the name Rizal instead of Mercado
because the name Rizal means persecution! Good! I too want to join them and be worthy of this family
name..."

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 offsprings 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)

SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)

The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.

How Jose Obtained the ‘Rizal’ Last Name

The Rizal surname was obtained by Francisco Mercado as suggested to him by a provincial governor
after the Governor General of the Philippines, Narciso Claveria, issued a decree in 1849 by which native
Filipino and immigrant families were to adopt Spanish surnames from a list of Spanish family names.
Jose Rizal also obtained the surname Rizal after dropping three other names that made up his full name.
Jose Rizal also retained Protasio as his other family name. His family never actually recognized their Rizal
surname, but Jose Rizal was forced to use it so that he can travel freely and disassociate himself from his
brother Paciano, who was notorious because of his links with native priests who were executed after
they were found to be subversives.

Rizal’s Lineage

The Rizal paternal ascendant was Domingo Lam-co, a full-blooded Chinese who lived in Amoy, China and
arrived in the Philippines in the closing years of the 17th century. Domingo Lam-co was married to a
Chinese half-breed named Ines de la Rosa. The Mercado-Rizal family had also Japanese, Spanish, Malay
and Negrito blood aside from their Chinese blood.

Rizal’s Parents

Jose Rizal’s father Francisco was the youngest of 13 children of Juan and Cirila Mercado. He was born in
Binan, Laguna, studied in San Jose College of Manila and died in Manila.

Teodora, the mother of Jose Rizal, was a business-minded, religious and hard working individual who
was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827. She was the second child of Brijida de Quintos
and Lorenzo Alonso. Teodora had Spanish and Japanese ancestors while the father of Teodora was a half
Spaniard engineer known as Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Teodora
died in Manila in 1913.

The parents of Jose Rizal were both farmers who were granted by the Dominicans with the lease of a
hacienda together with a rice farm.