Do you use Ancestry hints? Do you take advantage of FamilySearch’s full-text search? Have you experimented with ChatGPT to help make sense of long, difficult documents?
Have you ever wished there were a magic link that led directly from an ancestor to the full text of their will?
Recently, an Ancestry hint pointed me to a will recorded in West Virginia. Following that lead uncovered the same will recorded earlier in Pennsylvania. A second hint led to yet another copy of the very same will—this time in Kentucky. While none of these versions were new to the courts involved, each provided another access point to the same valuable document.
Because this will belonged to a collateral line and was quite lengthy, I decided to take a different approach. Using FamilySearch’s full-text capabilities, I obtained an AI-generated transcription of the will. Rather than immediately verifying every line, I asked ChatGPT to analyze the unedited transcription and extract the family relationships and key personal details buried within the document.
The result was a clear, structured summary that identified the testator’s wife, children, siblings, in-laws, and even religious affiliations—information that would have taken much longer to piece together manually from such a dense will.
In this case, three AI-assisted tools worked together:
- Ancestry hints to alert me to the existence of the will
- FamilySearch full-text search to locate and transcribe multiple versions of the document
- ChatGPT to synthesize the information into a usable family summary
While careful source citation and verification are still essential—and I’ll follow this post with citations to each version of the will—this workflow shows how modern tools can dramatically reduce the time it takes to extract family information from complex probate records.
Sometimes, the “magic link” isn’t a single click—it’s the smart combination of tools working together.
SUMMARY
Testator
Michael Tiernan
(of the City of Allegheny, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania)
Will dated: 1 March 1845
Wife
Elizabeth Tiernan (called Treman / Terman / Turman in transcription)
- Identified repeatedly as his “dearly beloved wife.”
- Receives:
- All household furniture
- Horses, carriages, sleighs
- The house and lot in the City of Allegheny during her natural life
- Income (interest) from a $40,000 trust
- Given full testamentary power to distribute the $40,000 among their children by her own will
- If she dies intestate, the $40,000 is to be divided equally among their five children
- Named guardian of the persons and estates of all minor children
Children of Michael and Elizabeth Tiernan
The will consistently names five children, repeated multiple times:
- Margaret Tiernan Jones
- Wife of Morris Jones
- $20,000 placed in trust for her sole and separate use
- Charged with $1,000 previously advanced
- Her husband is specifically excluded from control of her trust funds
- Seth Clark Tiernan
- Son
- Named repeatedly as trustee and executor
- Business partner with Michael Tiernan
- Trustee for:
- Wife’s $40,000 trust (as executor)
- Sister Margaret’s $20,000 trust
- Sister Eliza Jane’s $20,000 trust (see below)
- John Tiernan
- Son
- His children inherit upon certain contingencies
- His wife Amanda receives a life interest via a mortgage trust (see below)
- Michael Tiernan
- Son
- Francis Tiernan
- Son
These five children are the residuary heirs of the estate and real property after Elizabeth’s death.
Daughter (Religious)
Eliza Jane Tiernan (called Freeman / Treman in OCR)
- Identified clearly as:
- “my daughter Eliza Jane … now a member of the Sisterhood of Mercy”
- Receives:
- Income for life from a $20,000 trust
- Granted full power to dispose of the $20,000 by will
- If she dies intestate, the principal is to be divided equally (beneficiaries unclear in OCR, but likely siblings)
Brother
John Tiernan
(of Lawrence County, Ohio)
- Owes Michael Tiernan money via bond and mortgage
- Michael:
- Releases John from all other claims
- Redirects the mortgage proceeds into a trust for John’s wife and children
Sister-in-Law
Amanda Tiernan
- Wife of John Tiernan
- Receives life interest in the bond/mortgage proceeds
Nieces and Nephews
- Children of John and Amanda Tiernan
- Receive the mortgage principal after Amanda’s death
Other Brother
Francis Tiernan
- Mentioned as holding a balance due on the same bond/mortgage shared with John Tiernan
Sons-in-Law / In-Laws
- Morris Jones
- Husband of Margaret Tiernan
- Business partner in Tiernan & Jones (dry goods business)
Executors
- Seth Clark Tiernan (son)
- Morris Jones (son-in-law)
Religious & Charitable Bequests (Contextual, but genealogically useful)
- Right Reverend Michael O’Connor, D.D.
- Roman Catholic Bishop of Pittsburgh
- Funds directed to:
- Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum of Pittsburgh
- Roman Catholic Theological Seminary of the Diocese of Pittsburgh
These references strongly indicate the family’s Catholic affiliation.
Summary: Core Family Structure
Michael Tiernan
└── Wife: Elizabeth Tiernan
├── Margaret Tiernan → married Morris Jones
├── Seth Clark Tiernan
├── John Tiernan → wife Amanda
├── Michael Tiernan
├── Francis Tiernan
└── Eliza Jane Tiernan (Sister of Mercy)
Sources:
Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. Will Packets or Files, 1789-1917. Film #5538259. Michael Tiernan, 1 Mar 1845; 1083 to 1087 of 3126, digitized images, FamilySearch familysearch.org : viewed online 22 January 2026.
West Vierginia, Brooke County. Court Records, 1798-1875. Film #8612245. Michael Tiernan, 1845; Box 63: Envel. 225-227; 133 to 136 of 441, digitiezed images, familysearch.org : viewed online 22 January 2026.
Kentucky, Lawrence County. WIlls, 1821-1914. Film #4818732. Michael Tiernan, 1845; vol. 3: page 29; Image 134 to 136 of 339, digitized images, FamilySearch familysearch.org : viewed online 22 January 2026.