Josephine Bracken

Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken (August 9, 1876 – March 15, 1902) was the common-law wife of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal during his exile in Dapitan in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in the southern Philippines, till his execution on December 30, 1896 in Manila. In the early hours on the day of his execution, the couple was married. But even though attested by Josephine herself and the officiating priest, the marriage is disputed by some because no records were found regarding the union, discounting the unusual events of that day. Bracken was born in Hong Kong's Victoria Barracks on August 9, 1876 to Irish parents James Bracken, a corporal in the British Army, and Elizabeth Jane McBride, who were married on May 3, 1868...