Arthur Guinness (1725 - 1803)

Born 28 Sep 1725 in Oakley Park, Celbridge, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Olivia (Whitmore) Guinness — married 1761 in County Dublin, Ireland

Descendants

Died 23 Jan 1803 at age 77 in Beaumont, County Dublin, Ireland

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Biography

Arthur Guinness was born in Ireland.

Arthur Guinness is Notable.

Arthur Guinness was the creator of Guinness stout and the founder of the Guinness Brewery, St James' Gate.

Early Life

Arthur is said to have been born in 1725 near Celbridge, Co Kildare, Ireland, at Oakley Park.^[1][2] He was the son of Richard Guinness^[3][4][5][6] and Elizabeth Read^[4][5] (or Catherine Read).^[6]

Arthur's place of birth has been the subject of some question, or "family tradition." One often reported birth place^{[citation needed]} is the home of his Read grandparents, at Huttonread, Co. Kildare, Ireland. It was then the custom for an expectant mother to return to her home to give birth.

At the time of his birth, Arthur's father was employed by the Rev. Dr Arthur Price, rector of Celbridge (later Archbishop of Cashel), as the Land Steward to his property.^[4][5] One of the Steward's responsibilities was to brew the beer for the workers at the estate near Cashel.^[1]

Family

Arthur married Olivia Whitmore, daughter and co-heiress of William Whitmore,^[4][5] on the 14th June 1761 at St Mary, Dublin;^[7] they had at least twenty-one children,^[4][5] of which ten^[4] or twelve^[5] survived to adulthood:

1. Elizabeth Guinness
2. Hosea Guinness
3. Hosea Guinness
4. Arthur Hart Guinness
5. Edward Guinness
6. Olivia Guinness
7. Benjamin Guinness
8. Louisa Guinness
9. John Grattan Esq Guinness
10. William Lunell Esq Mg Guinness
11. Mary Anne Guinness

Brewer

Arthur probably learned about beer brewing by helping his father. Once on his own, Arthur started with a small brewery near Leixlip.^[1] He gifted that business to his younger brother, and on 31 December 1759, signed a lease on a floundering brewery at St James’s Gate in Dublin.^[1] By the 1770s, Arthur was brewing the new darker ale called porter.^[1] In the span of only eight years, he went from a new member of the Dublin Brewers and Maltsters Corporation to become Master of the Corporation.^[1] In 1799, he made the momentous decision to brew only the iconic Guinness porter.^[1]

Death and Legacy

Arthur died on the 23rd January 1803^[4][5] at his country estate, Beaumont.^[3]

Arthur was buried at Read family plot Oughterard, Co. Kildare.^[8]

He left a considerable fortune of £23,000, as well as the thriving business,^[1] and "a legacy and a name that would stand the test of time."^[3] Three of his sons continued the Guinness Brewery: Arthur, Benjamin, and William Lunell.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Guinness Corporation, Archive Fact Sheet: Arthur Guinness (1725-1803) Guinness Storehouse, Guinness Corporation, accessed February 17, 2015
2. ↑ Oakley Park, Celbridge, County Kildare
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Yenne, Bill, Guinness.] accessed February 17, 2015
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} ODNB: Wilson, R. G. Guinness, Arthur (1725–1803), Brewer. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 23 September 2004. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/54481.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} DIB: Dickson, David. Guinness, Arthur. Dictionary of Irish Biography (2009). https://www.dib.ie/biography/guinness-arthur-a3676.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Rendell, Mike, Arthur Guinness (1725 - 1803) - A Stout Fellow if Ever There Was One accessed February 17, 2015
7. ↑ Marriage License: "Dublin, Ireland, Probate Record and Marriage License Index, 1270-1858"
   Reports of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: Alexander Thom & Co. (Limited), 1895-1899
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2719 #19479 (accessed 27 March 2023)
   Arthur Guinness probate.
8. ↑ Find a Grave Memorial ID: 2005: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2005/arthur-guinness: accessed 17 February 2023), memorial page for Arthur Guinness (28 Sep 1725–23 Jan 1803), Find a Grave Memorial ID 2005, citing Oughterard Churchyard, Oughterard, County Kildare, Ireland; Maintained by Find a Grave.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q454138, en:Wikipedia
• Lynch, Patrick; Vaizey, John . Guinness’s Brewery in the Irish Economy, 1759–1876. The Economic Journal, Volume 71, Issue 284, 1 December 1961, Pages 810–812, https://doi.org/10.2307/2228264.