Meeting Report – Sheila Harris on the Delaney Brothers
Date: Wednesday 15th May 2025
Speaker: Sheila Harris
Event: Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society - Zoom Meeting
Following the completion of the formal AGM, members were treated to an engaging and well-researched talk by long-standing AWFHS member, Sheila Harris. Her presentation focused on the fascinating story of the Dehane family – and their family’s connections to Yorkshire, Kent and Calais in northern France, where the family had fled from during the persecution of the Huguenots
Setting the Scene
Sheila started by explaining her interest in the Dehane family started when, as a member of the Deal Branch of Kent FHS, she was involved in researching Francis Dehane, Mayor of Deal. As a resident of Deal she was fascinated by the link to Kildwick where some of her ancestors had lived in the 17th Century.
What was the relationship between the 2 John Dehanes
During her research she had looked at references to John Dehane, Vicar of Kildwick, in books and on websites. Some of the older sources had errors and these had been perpetuated on the websites. With the benefit of access to the internet plus local archives she was able to establish the true story of the family in Yorkshire.
The main issue was what was the relationship between John Dehane, Vicar of Kildwick 1735-1790, and John Dehane jr, his curate, and with Elizabeth and Mary Dehane who appear in the Kildwick registers. Using Wills and parish registers Sheila was able to establish that John jr, Elizabeth and Mary were siblings and nephew and nieces of John,sr, not his children as had been assumed.
She then went on to trace their ancestry back to a Huguenot family that had fled from Calais in the 1680s. Using French and English records Sheila recounted the struggles that the family endured.
The story, in greater depth, will be in the September edition of the AWFHS Journal