JOSE RIZAL FAMILY & STORIES

STORIES - Collection

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Just scroll down for stories and articles below:

1. Rizal Headstart By Carmen Guerrero-Cruz Nakpil
2. Rizal's Last Grandchildren Recollection
3. Rizal's Ancestors from South China
4. In Laguna for a Day of Rizal By Jodi Smith
5. Rizal's House (Poor Condition) By Gemma Araneta
6. Josephine Bracken Letter (Her Life)
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1. Source -http://www.malaya.com.ph/jun23/ednakpil.htm

1. ******RIZAL HEADSTART By Carmen Guerrero Nakpil In Her Column dated June, 2003 In One Newspaper*******

" What goes into the making of an exceptional man? Is it nature or nurture (as pop science asks today), genes or environment? Rizal had them all. "

R I Z A L H E A D S T A R T

WE Filipinos don't pay enough attention to Rizal's birthday (June 19, 1861) and to the circumstances of his earliest years. Even the most ardent Rizalist is more interested in the dramatic events of his career in Manila, Madrid, Paris, Heidelberg or Dapitan, than his childhood in Calamba. The fact is that Jose Rizal got a headstart for greatness in his home in Laguna.

What goes into the making of an exceptional man? Is it nature or nurture (as pop science asks today), genes or environment? Rizal had them all.

His father, Francisco Mercado, was a successful sugar planter of Chinese descent, whose father and grandfather had been municipal captains of Bi�an. An excellent provider, stern, quiet and strong, he gave his family wealth, an enviable family life, special prominence and all the security possible to natives in a centuries-old colony of the Spanish empire.

Rizal's mother was a brilliant colegiala who signed herself, "Teodora Alonso de Realonda," a lover of literature and mathematics, with Spanish and Chinese blood refined, highly educated and well connected. Virtuous and enterprising, she read Tagalog poetry to Rizal every night and owned a flour mill, cured hams and dyed fabrics, which she sold at a small shop on the ground floor of her house.

Rizal had an older brother, Paciano, who doted on him, and nine adoring sisters who laughed at all his sallies, sewed his clothes and served his favorite foods. They lived in the town's largest stone house, next to the church and the municipio on the main plaza, and enjoyed a large family library and an orchard with a small play house. There Rizal read and played with modeling clay endlessly. He was an attractive boy, fair and razor-sharp.

The town itself and the surrounding countryside were among the most beautiful in the Philippines, lush, verdant, fascinating, full of fruit trees where birds sang, coconut groves, the high, green, magic mountain Makiling (the view from Rizal's bedroom) and the immense blue lake, Laguna de Bay, where the family would sail or go on picnics. As a child, Rizal could identify and learned to love all the trees, birds, fishes, the magnificent flora and fauna of Laguna.

He was born frail and was small for his age, but when he was six, a physical-culture uncle taught him hiking, swimming and horse-back riding and he developed his physique to compensate for his lack of height. He had other tutors at home and then went to private school maestros in Calamba and Bi�an.

More to the point, he received crucial lessons in colonial politics and human justice. When he was 10, Do�a Teodora was arrested and accused of poisoning an in-law, her cousin Jose Alberto's wife, who had abandoned her home. Do�a Teodora had tried to heal the domestic rift and was repaid by a false, malicious accusation. The Spanish officers who has often dined at her home, made her walk 20 miles to the provincial capital of Santa Cruz where, despite legal action and frantic appeals to Manila, she remained imprisoned for more than two years. The boy Jose, "Pepe", was sunk in grief and outrage. One of Rizal's biographers, Austin Coates, explained that travesty thus: "At that time, a Filipino of merit was an object of fear to any Spaniard."

The year 1872 saw the explosion of the Cavite mutiny in which Fathers Burgos, Gomez and Zamora were implicated. The three priests had not had absolutely anything to do with the revolt, but they had been advocating the Filipinization of parishes, and Spanish authorities decided to make an example of them by fabricating evidence and executing them by garrote on the Luneta.

Because he has been a pupil and protege of Father Jose Burgos, Paciano went into hiding, and to avoid further persecution, the Mercado family changed their name to Rizal.

In June the same year, 1872, the boy Pepe Mercado, 11 years old, was enrolled in the Jesuit Ateneo Municipal in Manila under the name of Jose Rizal. There he was to learn arts, sciences and Catholic theology, and also, that he was the equal, and probably better, than any Spaniard. It was as if he was being programmed to become the national hero.
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2. Source - http://www.ebalita.net/go/news/news.php?id=1301

2. **** RIZAL'S LAST GRANDCHILDREN RECALL HOUSEHOLD OF HEROES ****
Posted By editor on Friday 13th June, 2003 @ 10:46 - (This posting taken from eBalita.net, which is presumably a public domain site.)

In a quiet neighborhood in the heart of Mandaluyong City live little-known witnesses to the making of heroes who bequeathed to the Philippines the distinction of being the first country in Asia to mount a revolution against its colonizers 105 years ago.

And the heroes are no less than Jose Rizal and his family.

Asuncion "Sunny" Bantug, 89; Carmen Consunji, 87; and Natividad Francisco, 86, the remaining grandchildren of Rizal, learned their history and about heroism right in their household.

They are probably the last of the Rizal clan to be raised in the old school in the manner of the national hero's mother Dona Teodora Alonso, whose children were taught unquestioning obedience and responsibility at home, alongside lessons in languages and the arts.

They had a brother, the youngest in the brood, who died during World War II.

The sisters are a striking reminder of the strength, courage, vivacity and intelligence characteristic of the Rizal women.

Their father, Leoncio Lopez-Rizal was a nephew of Rizal by Narcisa, the elder sister who attended to Rizal when the hero was exiled by the Spanish colonial authorities in the southern town of Dapitan.

Sometimes Leoncio would dish out stories about his famous uncle. The kids were also fed Rizal stories by their grandmothers Maria, Soledad, Trinidad, Rizal's other sisters.

Sunny remembers their Lolo Paciano, Rizal's only brother, who was known to have had a great influence on the hero, as a "very patient" man who would occasionally join their storytelling sessions.

"That's why we called him 'Lolo Pasensya' sometimes," Sunny says.

Raised in a close-knit household held together by their Lola Narcisa, they had a close look at the person known to the rest of the country only as a hero and a great literary figure.

A favorite destination on Sundays when they were kids was visiting the Rizal Monument at Manila's Luneta Park with their Lola Sisa who took them there after they finished their homework.

Lola Sisa would often end up crying whenever she spotted a flower or two laid before her brother's shrine, Sunny writes in her book.

When they were in grade school at Saint Paul's College in Manila, Sunny, Carmen and Naty would be brought to their Lola Sisa's house in Binondo every Thursday for storytelling sessions.

In this informal history class, Lola Sisa enchanted the children with recollections of events in the life of the Rizal clan made vivid with intimate details of each family member.

On such visits, Sunny, who graduated with a degree in Journalism and wrote two books on Rizal, always brought a notebook with her.

This was a sign that the eldest of the three sisters had brought along a lot of unanswered questions, a familiar experience for the elders of the household.

As a boy, Rizal himself endlessly asked a barrage of questions, which earned him the title of "the little question box," according to Sunny's book "Lolo Jose: An Intimate Portrait of Rizal."

Sunny herself was called "the little question box."

Sunny also has a degree in Education; Carmen finished Commerce and Naty completed both Chemistry and Commerce, all from the University of Santo Tomas.

Despite the sisters' relation with the national hero, they say they were never raised to feel important.

"We did not have that distinction," Carmen quips in an interview at their house on Lopez-Rizal Street.

Naty adds that their father did not allow them to grow up acting like significant personalities in society.

Although the family was well-off, the three girls were made to do house chores when they had no classes to give the maids a day off, as Dona Teodora did to Rizal and her other children.

In school, they were not even known as relatives of Rizal.

Naty says that the only time she was "found out" was when she submitted a composition in class detailing how Rizal got mad at one of his nephews and said: "I'd rather see you dead than hear you tell a lie."

When the teacher asked how a grade school student could have known about such a story, Naty said she learned it from her father.

In her book "Lolo Jose," she recalls how she and her sisters and cousins would try to excel in school so they would be rewarded with the privilege of holding the original of their Lolo's "Gahinlalaki," Rizal's Tagalog version of Thumbelina.

Rizal sent his original "Gahinlalaki" to Narcisa's children, which was later kept by Leoncio. Most of Rizal's original works inherited by the family were donated to schools and historical institutions.

Like their elders, the sisters converse in Spanish until now. They lapse into a mix of Filipino and English with guests. They also speak and understand "a little" of French, German and Mandarin.

Carmen says they picked up the languages from their schooling and frequent travels around the world with their parents, who believed in introducing them to other cultures.

These days, it is the turn of Sunny, Carmen and Naty to spend Sundays with their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren at their Mandaluyong compound.

The family was the first to build a house there, where they sometimes spent weekends even before they permanently relocated to Mandaluyong from Sampaloc in 1951.

"My father always wanted us to be together," Naty recalls.

But it is harder to gather and pass on stories to the younger generations as many of them have migrated abroad.

So, the sisters keep themselves busy with something less than historical: ballroom dancing at the Barrio Fiesta on Edsa twice a week.

Their main preoccupation at the moment is to stay strong and sharp. Carmen and Naty have also tried their hand at painting and ceramics.

Sunny continues her passion for reading. Her daughter takes her shopping for books every now and then. She also reads two newspapers every day.

Sunny said during the interview that they were seeking leaders who have a sense of history, who know how the lessons of the past can help shape the future.

They have, after all, seen the past and have been part of its heroic history.
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3. Source - http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/tagalog_default_files/philippine_national_heroes.htm

3. **** RIZAL'S "RAGS-TO-RICHES" ANCESTORS FROM SOUTH CHINA ****

By Wilson Y. Lee Flores
April 26, 1999

QUANZHOU CITY, China--In the annals of the world's top ethnic
Chinese entrepreneurs, immigrant tycoon Don Domingo Lamco
(Chinese name: ''Cue Yi-Lam,'' also pronounced ''Ke Yi-Nan'' in
Mandarin) of Laguna province, the Philippines will eventually
rank high in importance due to the greatness of his direct male
heir and Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

Five Rizal descendants recently made a historic homecoming to
the hero's ancestral village of Siongque (pronounced ''Zhang
Guo'' in Mandarin) in Losan district, Jinjiang City, Fujian
province, south China last April 2, just three days before the
ancient Ching Ming Festival when Chinese people traditionally
pay homage to their ancestors. Agence France Presse (AFP)
said 10,000 people gave a grand welcome in Siongque. Many
Filipino businessmen now propose the construction of a
1.2-hectare Rizal park and museum in Fujian as ''symbols of the
enduring friendly relations between the Philippines and China.''

In May 1998, this writer had lunch at the home of Rizal's
grandniece Asuncion Lopez-Rizal Bantug and I told her it was
possible to trace the hero's Chinese roots. In February this year,
this writer and businessman Manuel O. Chua successfully
verified the roots of Rizal based on south China genealogical
records and a 1913 book donated by the late Justice Roman
Ozaeta (father of former PCIBank president Antonio Ozaeta) to
Manila's National Library. Authored by American historian Prof.
Austin Craig, the book ''Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal,
Philippine Patriot'' gave the first Philippine verification of Rizal's
Chinese roots in the chapter on ''Rizal's Chinese Ancestry.''

Domingo Lamco had specified Siongque in Manila church
records as his home village near Chinchew or ''City of Spring.''
''Siongque Village of Fujian province indeed exists near the
historic city of Quanzhou, which is pronounced ''Chuanchow,''
meaning ''City of Spring.'' The rural areas of Jinjiang (now a city),
Lamoa, Hui-Wa, Chio-Sai, An-Khue and others under Quanzhou
are the ancestral places of 80 percent of the country's top
Filipino entrepreneurs of Chinese descent.

Rizal's eminent ancestors

Siongque was the rural ''barrio'' where entrepreneur Domingo
Lamco was born and educated in. He was the 19th generation of
the first Cua who settled in Siongque. The Cua clan of south
China and Asia trace their origins 3,000 years ago to patriarch
Chua Siok-To in the Yellow River basin of central China, in that
area now called Henan province. Duke Chua Siok-To was the
fifth son of the political genius who founded the Chou Dynasty
and his eldest brother later became the king. This era was before
the rise of a unified China under first Emperor Chin Shih
Huang-Ti. Descendants of Chua (also pronounced ''Tsai'' in
Mandarin or ''Choy'' in Cantonese) include some of the world's
richest billionaires according to Forbes magazine--Taiwanese
Tsai Wan-Lin of Cathay Life Group and Indonesian 'Tobacco
King' Rachman Halim (Chua To-Hing) of Gudang Garam Group.
Another clan member was the late Philippine 'Sugar King' and
philanthropist Antonio Roxas-Chua. Another heir of patriarch
Chua Siok-To started the clan of Cua (pronounced ''Ke'' in
Mandarin, also spelled as ''Qua'' or ''Koa,'' of which Domingo
Lamco and Dr. Jose Rizal were direct male descendants).

Lamco was founder of the entrepreneurial Mercado clan in
Laguna and the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Jose Rizal. From
March 31 to April 7, this writer accompanied and acted as
interpreter in south China to the five Rizal heirs--businessman
Antonio ''Noni'' Lopez-Rizal Bantug Jr., Leandro Bantug Jr.
(whose father Dinky owns a top furniture firm and the MBA
basketball team Manila Metrostars), Raul Jose Rizal Tan,
Ricardo Consunji III and Ditas O. Consunji. Noni's 78-year-old
mother Asuncion is the granddaughter of Rizal's elder sister
Narcisa and author of two important Rizal biographies.

Village of Lamco and Copra King

The five Rizal heirs were accompanied by 200 Cua-Chua clan
members from the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Malaysia, Taiwan and China in the sentimental journey to the
village of Domingo Lamco. The entire 5,000 population of
Siongque Village and thousands others from nearby villages
lined all streets for the grand welcome. There were nonstop
firecracker blasts, the local school was closed, red banners filled
the walls saying ''Welcome Home, heirs of Domingo Lamco and
Jose Rizal from the Philippines,'' a thousand small children in red
waved flower bouquets and ancient rites were held in them two
village temples. It was a welcome befitting an emperor.

Noni Bantug delivered a speech hoping that the memory of
Rizal's Chinese heritage will strengthen Philippine-China
relations. Stanford-educated Ricardo ''Bombit'' Consunji III
(Chinese name: Cua Yeng-Liong), with Philbank director Francis
Chua's help in drafting his speech, impressed the audience by
speaking about his ''lolo'' Jose Rizal in fluent Mandarin. Rizal
himself was fluent in the Chinese language and researched
Chinese historical data referring to pre-colonial Philippines to
debunk Spanish claims that the country had no early culture.

Bicolano trader Melanio Cua Fernando said: ''Our village had
never seen such a grand celebration, not since 1948 when
Bicolano tycoon Qua Chee Gan, another son of this village,
returned to Siongque to donate the local school.'' In the. pre-war
era years to the pre-martial law 1970s, immigrant Qua Chee Gan
was the ''rags-to-riches'' trader who became Philippine ''Copra
King.'' Based in Tabaco, Albay, Qua vigorously pushed
Philippine copra exports and was also a leading philanthropist.
Qua was so respected for his ''shinyung'' or ''trustworthiness''
that company drafts with his signatures were then considered
more valuable than cash by traders in the Bicol region and
Quezon province. One of his agency managers based in Daet,
Camarines Norte was the late Fernando S. Vinzons Sr., the future
top Bicolano businessman and father of former BIR
Commissioner Liwayway Vinzons Chato.

From merchant, mayors to martyr

Domingo Lamco was a fearless entrepreneur who not only
ensured the survival of his descendants, but also their
socio-political leadership as highly educated ilustrados. Lamco
achieved business success despite cruel odds, since the
Spaniards persecuted the Chinese and Chinese mestizos,
required them to pay unfair higher taxes and even at times
massacred them.

Persecutions toughened the Chinese traders, forcing them to
become resilient and resourceful. Baptized in the Catholic
church of Manila's Parian Chinese ghetto in June 1697 at age of
35, Domingo Lamco later moved to Bi?an, Laguna, prospered
and became a Chinese community leader. To free his heirs from
the Spanish regime's anti-Chinese racist policies, Lamco gave
his clan the new surname ''Mercado'' (meaning ''market'' in
Spanish) so that his heirs will not to forget their Chinese
merchant roots.

Rizal's ancestors were survivors of the Spanish colonial regime's
racism and despotism. Domingo Lamco wed Inez de la Roza,
daughter of the successful immigrant trader from Chuanchow
named Agustin Chinco. Lamco's son Francisco Mercado and
grandson Juan Mercado married Chinese mestizas and both
served as distinguished mayors of Bi?an for a total of five terms.

Juan's wife Cirila Alejandra was the daughter of an immigrant
trader and Domingo Lamco's baptismal godson Siong-co. By the
time of Rizal's father, their branch of the wealthy clan moved to
Calamba, built the first stone house in the whole town, owned
the first piano, the first carriage, owned a flour mill, a dye
factory, increased landholdings and sent their children to the
best schools. Jose Rizal Mercado again had to change the
family surname before entering Manila's Ateneo, to avoid
Spanish persecution since his elder brother Paciano Mercado
was close to the martyred Filipino priest, Jose Burgos. Rizal
himself died a martyr in 1896 at age 35, becoming a hero whose
powerful ideas and moral courage helped liberate the Filipino
nation from Spanish oppression.

It is fitting that much of Asia now honor the immigrant trader
Don Domingo Lamco of Laguna. His ''rags-to-riches'' career may
not yet be as well-known as those of immigrant billionaires Li
Ka-Shing of Hong Kong, Liem Sioe-Liong (Sudono Salim) of
Indonesia, prewar ''Rubber King'' Tan Kah-Kee of Singapore,
John Gokongwei Jr., Tan Yu or Henry Sy of the Philippines or
even that of 19th century empire-builder Jose Cojuangco I of
Tarlac, but Don Domingo Lamco's legacy of courage and
excellence embodied by heir Dr. Jose Rizal had immeasurably
enriched Philippine national life.

April 26, 1999
from the Philippine Inquirer Internet Edition
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4. Source - http://mvphilippines.hypermart.net/rizal.htm

4. **** IN LAGUNA FOR A DAY OF RIZAL ****
By Jodi Smith
(Please copy above http-link in your computer and click. You will read her write-up of her visit to the house of LEONCIO LOPEZ-RIZAL in Los Banos Laguna, plus his 2 pictures. Leoncio is grandson of Narcisa Rizal.)
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5. RIZAL HOUSE by Gemma Araneta, Manila Bulletin
(sad condition)

BY now, those school children who contributed their allowance to the
reconstruction of Jose Rizal�s house must be senior citizens and quite
horrified at what has happened to their patriotic project. Built in the
19th century by Francisco Mercado, the national hero�s father, the house
was the first stone and hardwood residence constructed in Calamba, Laguna,
at one corner of the town plaza, across the street from the church. That
was a coveted address in those days, an unmistakable sign of economic and
social prominence.

However, as the display panels at the "sagwan" emphasize, the Mercados
(a.k.a Rizals) were far from ostentatious. Francisco and wife Teodora
Alonso were an entrepreneurial, hard-working, and frugal couple who
nurtured their children with love, and gave the best education to both sons
and daughters. They instilled such sterling values in their brood that
Paciano and Jose became "rebeldes" and "filibusteros," vigorously
subverting the colonial order with full support of their sisters.

As a result, they lost that fabled house and were banished from Calamba;
Jose was executed at Bagumbayan at age 33, but his older brother, the
elusive General Paciano, lived long enough to defend the First Philippine
Republic until he was captured by the American invaders. The house was left
to rot and at some point burnt down only to be reconstructed after WW II by
President Elpidio Quirino. Architect Juan Nakpil who was commissioned to
restore the Quiapo Church and other heritage landmarks took on the Rizal
ancestral home. They must all be turning in their graves.

Through the years, shrines and landmarks dedicated to the memory of our
national hero were meticulously groomed and monitored by the National
Historical Commission (now Institute), despite its meager budget.

The Dapitan shrine, "Mi Retiro," was kept just as Rizal had left it and so
was his cell at Fort Santiago. Special care was lavished on the
reconstructed Rizal house and its setting, the ample garden where the
Mercado children played in their "bahay kubo" and romped among narra trees,
mabolos, and ilang-ilang planted by their parents. But ironically enough,
the Rizal Centennial (1986) made drastic, irreversible changes in its
misguided efforts to enhance the shrines.

At the Rizal ancestral home in Calamba, someone attached gigantic
butterflies and beetles on the fruit trees. Superimposed on the balustrade
of the azotea is a massive wooden trellis, bare and weathered, with not a
single tendril creeping on it. There is a row of flags along one side of
the garden and at closer scrutiny the poles are nothing but vile plumbing
tubes, carelessly filed to size, jagged edges exposed and now rusted.
"Pwede na iyan," someone must have said.

On the opposite side of the garden, an L-shaped concrete arcade has eaten
up most of the lawn. What could have possibly justified this tasteless but
costly monstrosity? There are two function rooms on the short leg of the L.
The windowless one has an over-sized door, a television monitor at the
center with rows of park benches arranged in classroom-like order. The
larger hall has only one window facing the garden. There were some
artifacts on display in glass cases lined with red velour but it was so dim
and hot as hell in there that one could not linger long enough to make
sense of the exhibit. If the objects had belonged to Rizal and his siblings
� I detected a small "sungkaan" and a wooden musical instrument � these
should be displayed, in situ, in the house itself.

Between the L-shaped arcade and the foot of the stone staircase leading to
the azotea, a skeletal steel frame totters on the uneven flooring, its
canopy dangling like torn flesh.

There is another function room which I suspect was airconditioned because
the single window remained shuttered and staff members took turns going in
and out of it, as if to cool themselves on that muggy day.

On a table near the door, a woman was selling Laguna goodies � espasol,
banana chips, sweet sampaloc � along with barong tagalogs, in-laid canes
and mabolo from Rizal�s fruit trees. The enterprising vendor was slouched
on a park bench that must have come from that airless tv room.

The last time I looked, the Rizal shrine at Calamba was a place of dignity
and elegance. Now everything seems so tacky. Why can�t we leave well enough
alone?

Gemma Araneta
Manila Bulletin
gcruz@i-manila.com.ph
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6. JOSEPHINE BRACKEN LETTER (Source below)

To: RP-Rizal@yahoogroups.com
From: "aringaseo" <ari.ngaseo@gmail.com> Add to Address Book
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 21:35:27 -0000
Subject: [RP-Rizal] The Life of Josephine Bracken

A direct transcription -- faithfully following the idiosyncrasies of
spelling and punctuation -- of a document reproduced as Appendix J in
One Hundred Letters of Jose Rizal to his Parents, Brother, Sisters,
Relatives (Manila: Philippine National Historical Society, 1959), 559-
563.

Description Of My Life
22nd February 1897. Monday

My Mother is a Native of Ireland and was married to my Father on the
3rd of May 1868 In Belfast Ireland[.] My Father,s name is James
Bracken, and my Mother,s Maiden name was Elizabeth Jane Mac Bride. We
were five brothers & sisters. Charles, Agness[,] Nelly[,] Francis[,]
& myself Josephine. Charles was born on the 10th of April 1864.
Agness was born in Malta on the 14th May 1873[.] Francis was born on
the 2nd of June 1875 and died on the 1st September 1875. Nelly was
born at Gibraltar on the 21st July 1871. and I was born in HongKong
at the Victoria Barracks on the 9th of August 1876. My Father is a
Corporal and Det[a]chment Schoolmaster of a Det[a]chment at Pembroke
Camp. My Mother died on the 2nd of September 1876 after giving birth
to me. After the loss of my beloveded Mother I was then removed to
the care of a neighbor until after her burial. As my Father is a
Milatary he could not attend to all of us especially me for being so
very small he gave me to a famailly to be adopted. The kind
benevolent Couple Mr. and Mrs. Taufer took very good care of me until
I was seven years old. Unfortunately at that age was when my adopted
Mother died.

This is When I was Seven Years of Age. 1882

Mrs. Taufer died on the 8th of October 1882 with a heart desease. A
year after Mr Taufer took to another wife, then my troubles commenced
little by little. On the 13th [?] of July 1889 we took a trip up to
Japan on account of Mrs. Taufer,s illness, we stayed in Japan three
month,s but as her health did not recover we returned back to
HongKong. We arrived in Hong Kong on the 24th of November 1889. But
Mrs. Taufer got worse and died on the 26th April 1890.

This is when I was Fifteen years of Age. 1890.

On the 12th November 1891 Mr. Taufer took to a third wife which was a
torment to me[.] On the 12th December I left Mr. Taufer,s house and
went to the Italian Convent because I could not stand any more her
troubles. I stayed in the Convent two Months when Mr. Taufer came
begging me to go home because his wife was starving him. As I could
not hear him complaining I went back on the 3 February 1892 to take
care of his house. On the 14th September I had trouble again with
Mrs. Taufer and hunted her out of the house. In 1893 Mr. Taufer got
very ill and had sore eyes, as he tried several Doctors but none
could do him any good[.]

This was when I were Eighteen Years of age

On the 6th [?] of September we went to Manila for the purpose of
seeing Dr. J. Rizal[.] unfortunately Dr. Rizal was not in Manila but
up the Provinces. We stayed in Manila for six Months and then we went
up to Dr. Rizal place. We arrived in Dapitan That is the name of the
Province on the 14th of March 1894 in the morning at 7 o,clock. We
stayed their a week before Dr. Rizal opperated on his eyes. After a
week,s time Mr. Taufer could see a little. On the 22nd February Dr.
Rizal asked Mr. Taufer if he had any objection if he mary me. But Mr.
Taufer objected it, but as I had affection towards Mr. Rizal I
entended to marry him. I accompanied Mr. Taufer back to Manila and
returned to Dapitan in the next steamer. By that time Dr. Rizal
prepared every thing for our marriage, when everything was prepared I
heard from a Spaniard that when we are married they would seperate me
from my husband. I thought it over and told Dr. Rizal that it is
better for us to waite untill he gets his freedom[.] anyhow I stayed
with him for one year, and we lived very very happy. Thank God I had
a very peaceful life as if I were a child on its Mother knee[.] I
cannot complain of his care. Ha! yes but it did not last very long[.]
My happiness lasted only 28 month then my sorrows commenced again.

This is when I was Nineteen years of age. 1896.

On the 28th of July 1896 Dr. Rizal left Dapitan for Cuba as a Doctor
in the army. But unfortunately they brought him back again and shot
him on the 30th December 1896[.] before his execution he married me
at 5 o clock in the morning[.]

This is when I am Twenty Years of age 1896.

Josephine Bracken de Rizal
A Widow

Good bye Father I am dead.
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