Francisco Mercado 

     Francisco married Teodora Alonso Realonda on June 28, 1848, when he was thirty years old. The couple lived in Calamba, Laguna, and established a profitable agricultural company. Together, they had 11 children, including Saturnina, Paciano, Trinidad, and the national hero, José.

Teodora Alonso

     She married Francisco Mercado of Biñan, Laguna in 1848 at the age of 20. They relocated in Calamba, Laguna, and had eleven children: Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Jose, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad, and Soledad. The Rizal family made their living mostly via agriculture. Teodora faced frequent persecution since she was the mother of a considered opponent of the Spanish authorities. In 1872, she was imprisoned for two and a half years on false charges of poisoning her brother's wife. In 1891, she was forced to walk 50 kilometers to Sta. Cruz, Laguna, for not using her hispanicized surname, Realonda de Rizal. She had insisted on using Alonzo.

Saturnina Rizal 

Also known as “Neneng”. In Calamba, Laguna, on November 3, 1881, Neneng wed Manuel T. Hidalgo, a prosperous resident of Tanauan, Batangas. Neneng was actually a big sister, having started out as Jose's oldest sibling. During Jose's absence, she painstakingly documented all everyday activities and events in Calamba and related vivid accounts of the Rizal family. To assist Rizal with his funds during his troubles overseas, Saturnina sent him a diamond ring.

Paciano Rizal 

Jose, Paciano's younger brother, received mentoring from him.     He was, as current activists would say, Jose's political officer (PO). So much so that Jose already had a strong sense of patriotism when he departed for Europe. Paciano served as Jose's main, if subdued, financier, ally, and accomplice during the latter's ascent to fame. He was arguably Jose's greatest influence. Paciano made the decision to remain hidden, as though he were subterranean, whereas Jose functioned aboveground and in a highly visible manner. This is not to argue that Rizal the elder was a helpless hero.

     Paciano, who was born in Calamba, Laguna, on March 9, 1851, saw firsthand the severe mistreatment of Filipinos by Spanish friars. He eventually joined La Juventud Liberal, the youth branch of the Comite de Reformadores, an organization that promoted secularization during the period of Spain's liberal Constitution. The organization wished for the Philippines to experience a similar liberalization.

      The Comite de Reformadores was led by the Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (GOMBURZA). Paciano was employed by Fr. Burgos, who served as both his companion and teacher. Paciano was profoundly and permanently affected by GOMBURZA's execution in 1872, following his involvement in the Cavite Mutiny.

      He joined the propaganda movement and gave it enthusiastic assistance. He raised money for Diariong Tagalog, the movement's newspaper, in order to assist it. Paciano joined the Katipunan and became a Katipunero. Along with his brother-in-law Manuel Hidalgo, he was taken into custody by the Guardia Civil in November 1896 for their roles as directors of the Katipunan and their involvement in revolutionary actions.

Narcisa Rizal 

     Jose Rizal's third oldest sibling was Narcisa. She worked as a musician and instructor. Narcisa was the one who searched for and discovered Dr. Jose Rizal's unmarked burial at the Paco cemetery following his martyrdom. 

Olympia Rizal

    Born on August 15, 1855, in Calamba, Laguna, Olympia Rizal was married to Silvestre Ubaldo. She was the fourth child of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso, and one of the siblings of José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. Olympia passed away in 1887, not long after giving birth to her third child.

Lucia Rizal

     Mariano Herbosa of Calamba was the husband of Lucia Rizal. Because he was Dr. Jose Rizal's brother-in-law, her spouse was not allowed to have a Christian funeral when he passed away in the cholera pandemic of 1889. Jose Rizal founded a school in Dapital during his exile, which she sent her two kids, Estanislao and Teodisio, to attend.

Maria Rizal

     Maria Rizal is the family's sixth child. When it seemed that most of the Rizal family was against the idea, Jose confided in her about his desire to wed Josephine Bracken. Jose had also discussed with Maria his intention to build a colony of Filipinos in the northern part of British Borneo.

Concepion Rizal

     Also known as "Concha". Concepcion Rizal, referred to as 'Concha' by her siblings, was the eighth child born into the Rizal family. She passed away at three years old. It's reported that Pepe was most in love with little Concha, who was a year younger than him, out of all his sisters.

Josefa Rizal

     Josefa Rizal was born in 1865, making her the family's ninth child. Another name for Josefa is "Panggoy." Rizal was penning messages when he was in Europe. He wrote for Joseph, praising his brother's English proficiency in the flesh. Additionally, Rizal sent a note about twenty pesos instead of the ten that were meant to be for the lottery. Despite having epilepsy, she was nevertheless able to become a Katipunera and join the Katipunan. Josefa was chosen to serve as the Katipunan's female president. She and Gregoria de Jesus were among the founding members of the Katipunan. In 1945, she passed away without a husband or kids. 

Trinidad Rizal

     Trinidad was a founding member of the Philippines' first female Masonic lodge. In addition, she belonged to the Filipino masonry organization Walana, which was founded in Manila on July 18, 1893, and was closely associated with the ilustrados' masonic temples. Together women Concepcion Felix, Luisa de Silyar, Maria Paz Guanzon, Librada Avelino, and others, Trinidad co-founded the Asociacion Feminista Filipina (AFF) in 1905, which was the first organization of its kind in the Philippines. The organization supported women's health in addition to encouraging them to engage in politics and public service. Trinidad took part in Gota de Leche, popularly known as La Proteccion de la Infancia, an AFF subproject aimed at enhancing maternal, newborn, and child health as well as reproductive issues.

Soledad Rizal

     The youngest child of the Rizal family, Choleng was also known as. Of all Rizal's sisters, she was a teacher and hence maybe the most educated. Without her parents' approval, Rizal chastised her sister for marrying Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba. But Choleng's union with Pantaleon led to the Rizal family becoming allied by affinity with Miguel Malvar (the hero who could have been listed as the second Philippines President for taking over the revolutionary government after Emilo Aguinaldo's arrest in 1901), as he wrote in a letter, "Because of you the peace of our family has been disturbed." 

1861-1870

    Teodora Alonso Realonda, Jose Rizal's mother, was his first teacher; she encouraged him to write poetry and taught him to read. Later, private tutors taught him Latin and Spanish. Jose Rizal's formal education began when he was enrolled in a private school in Biñan. 

1872-1877

    At the age of eleven, Rizal started attending the Ateneo Municipal de Manila for his secondary education. He excelled in classes including philosophy, physics, chemistry, and natural history. During his time at this institution, he wrote poetry that was recognized with awards, read books, and even wrote a play titled "Junto al Pasig". He also pursued his lifelong interests in painting, clay modeling, and drawing.

1877-1882

     In the end, Rizal studied philosophy and letters at the University of Santo Tomas and received a degree in land surveying and assessment from the Ateneo Municipal. which, in 1878, he also took medication for. He also traveled to Europe to study at Universidad Central de Madrid for his Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters and Opthalmology.

1883-1884

     Following the completion of his medical studies, he began visiting nations in Europe and Asia. Spain was the first nation he traveled to at the time, then Singapore, Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), Italy, France, Barcelona, Paris, Madrid, and so forth.

1885-1887

     Rizal earned a Licentiate in Medicine from the Universidad Central de Madrid, where he also studied literature and philosophy. While he was in Madrid, he had the inspiration for Noli Me Tangere. In 1887, he completed his eye-specific training at the University of Heidelberg and continued his studies at the University of Paris. It was also the year that Rizal's first book was published in Berlin.

1887-1888

    Rizal moved back to the Philippines to continue his career, eager to repair his mother's eyes, treat young Filipinos, and introduce them to European culture. He then traveled to London for further studies on Philippine history.