Early life Bracken was born in
Victoria Barracks in
Hong Kong 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, in
Belfast, Ireland. After her mother died shortly after childbirth, her father gave her up for
adoption. She was taken in by her godfather, the American George Taufer, a blind and fairly well-to-do engineer of the pumping plant of the
Hong Kong Fire Department, and his late Portuguese wife. Taufer 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 that, Taufer decided to remarry again, but the new wife was a challenge for Bracken to deal with. She spent two months in the Convent of the Canossian Sisters, where she previously attended early years of school. She decided to return only after Taufer called at the convent's door, pleading with her to return home as his third wife was a bad housekeeper. Shortly after a few months, she had trouble again with the third Mrs Taufer, who haunted her out of the house.
Relationship with Rizal Bracken later recommended that her blind adoptive father see
José Rizal, who was a respected
ophthalmologist and had practised at
Rednaxela Terrace in Hong Kong. By this time, he was a political
exile in
Dapitan in southern Philippines. The family sailed to the Philippines and arrived in Manila on February 5, 1895, and later that month, Bracken and Taufer sailed to Dapitan. Taufer's double
cataract was beyond Rizal's help, but he fell in love with Bracken. Taufer vehemently opposed the union but finally yielded. Bracken accompanied Taufer to Manila on his way back to Hong Kong, together with Rizal's sister, Narcisa, on March 14, 1895. Rizal applied for marriage, but because of his writings and political stance, the local priest Father Obach would only agree to the ceremony if Rizal obtain permission from the
Bishop of Cebu. Either the Bishop did not write him back or Rizal was not able to mail the letter because of Taufer's sudden departure. Before returning to Dapitan to live with Rizal, Bracken introduced herself to his family members in Manila. His mother suggested a
civil marriage, which she believed to be a lesser "sacrament" but free from
hypocrisy— and thus less a burden to Rizal's conscience— than making any political retraction. While she was in a delicate condition, Rizal played a prank on her that was harmless in itself, which startled her so that she sprang forward and was struck against an iron stand. Though it was purely an accident and Rizal was scarcely at fault, he blamed himself for it, and his later devotion seems largely to have been trying to make amends.
Rizal's last days '' that was Rizal's wedding and parting gift to his wife. His dedication is written in English. On the evening before his execution on December 30, 1896, on charges of
treason,
rebellion, and
sedition by the Spanish colonial government, the Catholic Church claimed that Rizal returned to the faith and was married to Bracken in a religious ceremony officiated by Father Vicente Balaguer,
S.J. sometime between 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM, an hour before his scheduled execution at 7:00 AM. Despite claims by Father Balaguer and Bracken herself, some sectors, including members of Rizal's family, disputed that the wedding had occurred because no records were found attesting to the union.
After Rizal's death Following Rizal's death, Bracken joined
revolutionary forces in
Cavite province, where she took care of sick and wounded soldiers, boosting their morale,
Later life Upon returning to Hong Kong, she once more lived in her father's house. After his death, she married Vicente Abad, a
Cebuano mestizo who represented his father's
tabacalera company in the British territory, on December 14, 1898.{{cite web|url=https://nhcp.gov.ph/a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-josephine-bracken/|title=A Glimpse into the Life of Josephine Bracken Bracken died of tuberculosis on March 14, 1902 in Hong Kong and was interred at the
Happy Valley Cemetery. ==Inconsistencies==