Ireland, Guinness Employee Records, 1799-1939

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Ireland, Guinness Employee Records, 1799-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Employee Records. Dublin, Ireland: Guinness Archive.

About Ireland, Guinness Employee Records, 1799-1939

General collection information

This collection contains images of employee records from the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, Ireland, between 1799 and 1939. Records of employee activities were kept in printed log books with entries typically handwritten. The information in the records includes key dates in the lives of employees and information about their relatives.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

  • Name
  • Gender
  • Marital status
  • Birth date and place
  • Marriage date
  • Age at employment
  • Employment dates
  • Death date
  • Street address
  • Occupation
  • Location of employment
  • Spouse’s name, birth date, and age
  • Names, ages, and relationships of up to four relatives

    • This collection can be used to verify that your ancestor worked for the Guinness Brewery at a particular location and time. The information in the records also can be used to confirm the vital dates of your ancestor’s life and add your ancestor’s spouse and relatives to your family history.

    This collection contains several different types of records, such as wage books, authorization logs, and next of kin records, that can tell you when and how a person worked for Guinness and the events recorded by the company. These records can allow you to confirm details about your ancestor’s life that may have also been pertinent to their employer.

    Some images have been redacted or removed to protect the privacy of those still alive in accordance with local laws. Some indexes may not include all information as originally recorded, where it is unavailable due to privacy laws.

    Collection in context

    Arthur Guinness founded the Guinness Brewery on December 31, 1759. He began by brewing ale but shifted to making porter by the 1770s, which was first exported to England in 1796. Guinness began brewing a more robust porter in 1801, two years before he died. That porter evolved over several decades, and by 1849 was named Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

    By the end of the 19th century, Guinness was the largest brewery in the world, with about 3,000 employees who were among the highest-paid people in Dublin. Guinness rarely let employees go and felt it was socially and economically important to treat them with dignity.

    By 1900, the brewery’s campus in Dublin had grown to 60 acres, and the company had its own fire brigade and an internal railway system. By the 1930s, Guinness was the seventh largest company in the world, and its first brewery outside Ireland was opened in London in 1936.

    Bibliography

    Birtles, Katie. "A brief history of Ireland’s national drink, Guinness." Trafalgar.com. Accessed 29 March, 2023. https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/a-brief-history-of-irelands-national-drink-guinness/.

    Carmichael Digital Projects. "Guinness: Employment." Accessed 29 March, 2023. https://carmichaeldigitalprojects.org/ireland/exhibits/show/my-goodness--my-guinness/employment.

    Guinness Storehouse. "Search Our Past Employees Database." Accessed 29 March, 2023. https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/discover/find-your-family.

    ---. "The Story of Guinness." Accessed 29 March, 2023. https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/discover/story-of-guinness.