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Family history website Ancestry ( ancestry.co.uk) has published the employment records of the famous Jameson Distillery in Dublin.
More than one million records are indexed and available to search, accompanied by images of the original documents.
The records, which are held by the Irish Distillers Archive ( irishdistillers.ie), contain detailed weekly wages books and include each employee’s name as well as their occupation, hours worked and wages paid. They span from 1862 to 1969, although records holding personal information are only available to view until 1937 because of data-protection regulations.
Rhona Murray, senior content acquisition manager at Ancestry, said: “Occupation records can be a key resource for those researching their family history, as they often provide more detail and context on how their ancestors lived day-to-day. The Jameson Distillery staff wages and employment books are particularly important, as they bring to life a time when the Jameson Distillery played a vital role providing employment for the local community – and potentially your ancestors – in Dublin City. We are delighted to be working with Irish Distillers to preserve and provide online public access to this valuable collection, for people in Ireland and those with Irish heritage all around the world.”
In addition, many crucial Irish records were destroyed in a fire at the Public Records Office in Dublin during the Irish Civil War. So any records from pre-1922 Ireland could be invaluable for unearthing Irish ancestors.
The Jameson Distillery was established at Bow Street, Dublin, in 1780 under the name of the Bow Street Distillery. General manager John Jameson took full ownership of the business in 1805, and named it after himself in 1810. The distillery continued to operate until 1971, and now offers guided tours and tasting sessions.
The records provide a glimpse into Dublin’s history in the 19th and 20th centuries. For example, during the Easter Rising in 1916 the distillery was taken over by the rebels. A note in the wages book says: “Rebellion in Dublin, all employees paid full week.”
Carol Quinn, archivist at Irish Distillers, said: “While the archive is an internal resource for Irish Distillers and is not open to the public, I have always tried to answer any genealogical query that I receive. However, physically looking through the volumes isn’t good for the longevity of the records. Thanks to Ancestry and the team who came to Midleton to digitise the volumes, all of the records will be available online so people can look up the records themselves and find out if their relatives worked at the distillery and what their working life was like.”