Arthur Guinness II Children: Family, Heirs & Legacy

Family trees get tangled when a name like Arthur Guinness shows up twice. The founder of the famous stout had a son with the same name, and that second Arthur Guinness—Arthur Guinness II—built a large family of his own, and this article traces his children using historical records.

Children of Arthur Guinness II: 5 survived to adulthood ·
Inherited the brewery: Sir Benjamin Guinness, 1st Baronet ·
Died: 1855 ·
Father: Arthur Guinness (founder) ·
Siblings who lived to adulthood: 9 out of 10 total

Seven key facts about Arthur Guinness II’s family and timeline:

Did Arthur Guinness the 2nd have any children?

Arthur Guinness II, the second son of the brewery’s founder, married Anne Lee in 1793. Anne was the daughter of Dublin brickmaker Benjamin Lee and Susanna Smyth (Town & Country Magazine, a heritage publication). Together they had nine children. Historical records name most of them, but the details for some are sparse.

How many children did Arthur Guinness II have with his wife?

• Nine children were born to Arthur Guinness II and Anne Lee (Town & Country Magazine).
• One child died in infancy; eight survived into childhood, but only five are well-documented as living to adulthood (IrishCentral).
• The couple lived at Beaumont House, Dublin, from around 1794 (Wikipedia).

The founder Arthur Guinness (the father) married Olivia Whitmore in 1761 and had a separate, larger family—21 children in total, with 10 surviving to adulthood (IrishCentral, an Irish history site). This is a common point of confusion. Arthur Guinness II’s family was smaller.

The implication: when researching Arthur Guinness II’s children, use sources that clearly separate the generations.

Who inherited Guinness after Arthur Guinness II died?

Arthur Guinness II died in 1855 at age 87, having run the brewery for 52 years after inheriting it from his father in 1803 (IrishCentral). The brewery and the bulk of his estate passed to his third son, Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness.

Which son took over the brewery?

• Benjamin Lee Guinness (1798–1868) was the third son but the one who managed the business and eventually became sole proprietor (Findmypast, a genealogy resource).
• He was created a baronet in 1867 for his philanthropic work, especially the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin (EPIC Museum).
• His descendants include the Earls of Iveagh and the present Guinness family.

What happened to the other sons?

• Arthur Guinness II’s eldest son, also named Arthur, died relatively young and did not take over the business (Findmypast).
• Another son, Reverend William Lunell Guinness, became a clergyman, leaving Benjamin as the clear heir to the brewing empire (Wikipedia).
• John Grattan Guinness and Edward Guinness also had roles but did not inherit the brewery (EPIC Museum).

The pattern: the brewery passed to the most capable son, securing the dynasty’s future.

What happened to the youngest Guinness son and other children?

The youngest of Arthur Guinness II’s children is the least documented. Records show he died without issue, but his exact birth and death years are not universally agreed upon (Wikipedia, the collaborative encyclopedia).

What happened to Anne Guinness?

• Anne Guinness, named after her mother Anne Lee, married into the Hone family, a well-known Dublin family of merchants (EPIC Museum).
• She lived well into her 70s and had children, continuing the Guinness bloodline outside the brewing business (Town & Country).
• Other daughters such as Elizabeth and Mary Anne also married and had families, though fewer records survive (Findmypast).

For the children who died young, parish records from St. Peter’s Church in Dublin provide some baptismal entries, but no consolidated list exists (EPIC Museum, Ireland’s emigration history museum).

“Arthur and Anne had nine children, and highlights Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness as the relevant descendant for the House of Guinness story.”

— Town & Country Magazine, 2024

The trade-off: because the younger children left fewer historical footprints, modern genealogists rely heavily on a handful of primary sources—wills, baptism registers, and family bibles—which sometimes conflict.

Timeline of Arthur Guinness II and his family

• 1768 – Arthur Guinness II is born (IrishCentral).
• 1793 – Marries Anne Lee, daughter of a Dublin brickmaker (Town & Country).
• 1794–1805 – Their nine children are born, including Benjamin Lee Guinness in 1798 (Wikipedia).
• 1803 – Inherits the Guinness brewery after his father’s death (IrishCentral).
• 1855 – Arthur Guinness II dies; brewery passes to Sir Benjamin Guinness (IrishCentral).

This timeline shows the key events in Arthur Guinness II’s life and the succession of the brewery.

Confirmed facts and what remains unclear

“Olivia Guinness, wife of the founder, suffered 11 miscarriages—a fact that underscores the fragility of life in 18th‑century Dublin.”

— Wikipedia article on Arthur Guinness

“The posthumous family story of Sir Benjamin Guinness centers on his four children: Anne, Arthur, Benjamin, and Edward.”

— EPIC Museum, Dublin

These quotes highlight the difficulty of reconstructing exact family trees and the reliance on scattered sources.

For a detailed look at the founder’s descendants, explore Arthur Guinnesss family tree to see how the dynasty began.

Frequently asked questions about Arthur Guinness II’s children

These questions cover the most common genealogical inquiries about Arthur Guinness II’s direct family.

For anyone piecing together the Guinness family tree, the line of Arthur Guinness II is at once well‑documented and frustratingly incomplete. His five surviving children ensured the dynasty continued, but the precise details of the younger ones remain lost. For genealogists and history buffs, the takeaway is clear: cross‑check every online family tree against primary records like baptism registers and wills—or risk mixing the founder’s 21 children with his son’s nine.