A rare snapshot of farming community life before the famine in east Cork has been facilitated thanks to a partnership between Irish Distillers and Ancestry, a global leader in family history, which has seen the publication of historic barley purchase records from James Murphy & Co at Midleton Distillery.

The collection spans three ledgers dating from 1825-1834, documenting barley purchases from east Cork farmers during the pre-famine period. 

The volumes record the names of local farmers who supplied the distillery in its early years, along with the quantities of barley sold, offering a rare insight into the early history of Midleton Distillery and the farming communities that supported the production of Irish whiskey.

The records are available to search free of charge up to September 29 on the Ancestry website.

With few, if any, individual records of farmers surviving from this period, the documents may be the only written trace of many of the families listed, making them an invaluable resource for genealogical research.

The ledgers even record the names of female farmers who were leading households and managing farms across east Cork.

Carol Quinn, head of archives at Irish Distillers, said they are proud to continue their partnership with Ancestry, making their archival records available to people around the world.

She said: "The barley purchase books date back to the foundation of Midleton Distillery, which marks its 200th anniversary this year, and represent a remarkable resource for anyone tracing their roots in east Cork.

"As they capture a pre-famine period, these may be the only surviving records of some individuals.

The head of archives noted that these records offer "a unique bridge to the past", helping the public to explore and connect with their family history.

"They also show the crucial importance of business archives in filling in the gaps in our documentary heritage," Carol said.

Rhona Murray, senior content acquisition manager at Ancestry, said their mission is to connect everyone with their past so that they can discover, preserve, and share their family stories.

Rhona said: "We work closely with archives around the world to digitally image and index genealogically relevant historical documents and make them searchable like never before.

"We are proud to work with Irish Distillers to digitise and bring online this unparalleled collection of barley purchase books recording farmers from the pre-famine era,

"By combining our strengths, Irish Distillers and Ancestry are excited to help unlock new and interesting family history and social history stories for those interested in researching their connections to east Cork.”

This latest release adds to a growing collection of records made available through the partnership between Irish Distillers and Ancestry.

Previous collaborations have seen the digitisation from the firm John Jameson & Son of over one million employee records spanning more than a century and also historical agreements with Irish publicans.