Guinness hired generations of Dublinites to work in its brewery. Their personnel and trade ledgers covering 160 years have recently been digitized. For the first time ever, Ancestry is offering free viewing of this important collection for two weeks (March 8-22).

“No matter when your family left (Ireland), there is a possibility that you could make a connection. Or even if you have family that stayed, there’s a possibility that you can make a connection in this collection, and I just think that’s a huge boon for people,” says Crista Cowan, Ancestry's corporate genealogist.

Almost like a census substitute, the records date from 1799 to 1939. In addition to workers' names, details may include home addresses, occupations, spouses, children and marriages. One in 30 residents of Dublin worked for Guinness at one point in time.

Start your Ancestry search here.

Read about Guinness and what you might find among the 1.6 million records in this CNN article.