Josephine Bracken
| Josephine Bracken | |
|---|---|
A studio portrait of Bracken in Filipino attire, 1896
|
|
| Born |
Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken 3 October 1876 Victoria, British Hong Kong |
| Died | 15 March 1902 (aged 25) British Hong Kong |
| Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
| Resting place |
Happy Valley Cemetery Hong Kong |
| Other names | Josefina |
| Known for |
La viuda de Rizal ("The Widow of Rizal") |
| Spouse(s) |
José Rizal (1896) Vicente Abad (1900-1902) (her death) |
| Partner(s) | José Rizal (1895-1896) |
| Children | Francisco Rizal y Bracken (between 1896-1933) Dolores Bracken Abad (1900-1987) |
| Parent(s) | James Bracken and Elizabeth Jane McBride |
Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken (October 3, 1876 – March 15, 1902) was the common-law wife of Philippine national hero José Rizal during his exile in Dapitan in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in the southern Philippines. In the early morning hours of December 30, 1896, the day of his execution by firing squad, the couple were married in Fort Santiago, the place of his incarceration, following his reconciliation with the Catholic Church. The marriage is disputed by some sectors because no records were found regarding the union, discounting the unusual events of that day, even if it was attested by Josephine herself and the officiating priest.
Josephine was born in Victoria Barracks in Hong Kong on October 3, 1876 to Irish parents James Bracken, a corporal in the British Army, and Elizabeth Jane McBride, who were married on May 3, 1868 in Belfast, Ireland. After her mother died shortly after childbirth, her father gave her up for adoption. She was taken in by her godfather, American George Taufer, a blind fairly well-to-do engineer of the pumping plant of the Hong Kong Fire Department, and his late Portuguese wife. He later remarried another Portuguese woman from Macau, Francesca Spencer, with whom he had another daughter.
In 1891, the second Mrs. Taufer died and the two young women managed the Taufer home.
After on, Mr. Taufer decided to remarry again but the new wife turned out to be difficult to deal with for Josephine. She spent two months in the Convent of the Canossian Sisters, where she previously attended early years of school. She decided to go back only after Mr. Taufer called at the Convent's door pleading her to go back home as his third wife turned out to be a bad housekeeper. Shortly after a few months, she had trouble again with the third Mrs. Taufer and haunted her out of the house.
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