This person is dead.
Sir Thomas Dymoke, Knight
1427 – 1470
Lincolnshire, England Northumberland, EnglandDear Children
Tonight I will tell you about one of your ancestors who was a knight, just like King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. And he died by being beheaded.
Sir Thomas Dymoke, Knight, was involved in the War of the Roses. The War of the Roses was a civil war in England that lasted over thirty years from 1455 to 1487. It was about who should be king. The war was between various descendants of King Edward III who had died in 1377. On one side of the war were the Lancastrians who supported Henry VI. Their symbol was the red rose. On the other side of the war were the Yorks who supported Edward IV. Their symbol was the white rose.
In 1461 when Edward IV became king, Thomas was his champion. So it's surprising to learn that very King Edward had Sir Thomas killed. It seems that Sir Thomas may have been, along with his brother-in-law, Lord Richard Welles, a victim of a plot by the Earl of Warwick to stir up trouble for King Edward IV in Dymoke's neighborhood of Lincolnshire. It is not clear to what extent Sir Thomas himself was against the king, though Lincolnshire tended to be Red rose country. But Warwick had stirred up rebellion among the people of Lincolnshire at a time when Sir Thomas and Lord Richard were riding toward Lincolnshire with the king. When the king learned of the rebellion he had both Lord Welles and Sir Thomas Dymoke beheaded.
The War of the Roses ended in 1487. Henry VII became king. He was a descendant of the House of Lancaster and he married Elizabeth of the house of York. So the red rose and the white rose joined together. The War of the Roses was finished and a new royal line was begun. They called themselves Tudors.
Another very interesting fact about Sir Thomas is that his wife's parents, Sir Lionel Welles and Joan Waterton, are ancestors of both Paul and Dianne Stevens. I'm just going to tell you about the line to Paul Stevens right now.
Sir Thomas Dymoke was your 16th great grandfather. Sir Thomas and his wife, Margaret Welles, were parents of Sir Robert Dymoke. (The 'Sir' means he was a knight. I think.) Sir Robert was the father of Sir Edward Dymoke. Sir Edward was the father of Arthur Dymoke. Arthur was the father of Edward Humphrey Demick. Edward was the father of Elder Thomas Demick. Elder Thomas was our immigrant ancestor in this Dymoke/Dimmock line. ('Elder" means he was an important person in the church.) Elder Thomas was the father of Susanna Dimmock. Susanna Dimmock was the mother of Susanna Shelley. Susanna Shelley was the mother of John Derrick the second. John Derrick the Second was the father of Ephraim Derrick. He was in the Revolutionary War. Ephraim had Rodolphus Derrick. Rodolphus took a year long expedition down the Ohio River from New York to Illinois. We read his diary, remember? Rodolphus had Franklin H. Derrick. Franklin H. had Mary Lorinda Derrick. Always remember Mary Derrick! Mary Derrick had Flora Balis. Flora had Harold Stevens. Harold had Paul Stevens. Paul had Dawne Stevens. Dawne had Sarah, Hannah, Timmy, and Becky!
So Hooray for the knight who got his head chopped off!
Love,
GrannyP.S. Here's a story about John Dymoke's being king's champion. He was Thomas's great grandfather. King's Champion was an hereditary position.
In "Traces of a Heritage" by Peter Bond, he quotes the following from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica under "Dymoke": The name of an English family holding the office of king's champion. The functions of the champion were to ride into Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet and challenge all comers to impugn the king's title. The earliest record of the ceremony at the coronation of an English king dates from the accession of Richard II. On this occasion the champion was Sir John Dymoke."
This person is dead.
This person is dead.
In "Traces of a Heritage" by Peter Bond, he quotes the following from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica under "Dymoke": The name of an English family holding the office of king's champion. The functions of the champion were to ride into Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet and challenge all comers to impugn the king's title. The earliest record of the ceremony at the coronation of an English king dates from the accession of Richard II. On this occassion the champion was Sir John Dymoke."
This person is dead.
This person is dead.