Searching for heirs – teacups’ history

Sometimes the smallest objects hold the most interesting stories. These cups, seemingly ordinary (though straight from Bolesławiec!), take us through the extraordinary fate of a family whose roots reach Galicia, Volhynia, and even Bosnia. How is it possible that they became a symbol of genealogical research and the discovery of as many as 67 successors? Discover the fascinating story of the searching for heirs, where genealogy intertwines with inheritance…

*Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of our clients.

Family twists and turns – searching for heirs

It all began in 2019, when we started searching for the heirs of Mr. Janusz Kaszewik. It was quite a challenge, as he died childless in 1952 in the US. We therefore had to look for any living relatives. The only clue was a note in an American obituary about his siblings remaining in Poland. This gave us hope that we would be able to resolve the matter. We started by determining Mr. Kaszewik’s place of origin. After searching through overseas documents, we found it – Rusinów. The surname Kaszewik did indeed exist there, but unfortunately we were unable to confirm any connection between these people and Janusz.

We thought long and hard about what to do next, until we stumbled upon information that the testator, along with his parents and siblings, had lived in Volhynia at the beginning of the 20th century! This was an extremely intriguing discovery, as Rusinów was located in Galicia, while Volhynia was part of the Russian Empire. We determined that the reason for the move was the so-called “land hunger.” At that time, the Austrian government was encouraging its citizens to move to Russia. We breathed a sigh of relief for a short time. However, this was not the end of the Kaszewik family’s housing turmoil. After a few years, they moved to… Bosnia. This was related to the annexation of the country by Austria-Hungary in 1908 and the settlement campaign carried out in the area at that time. The family stayed there for a longer period of time.

Resolution of the case

It was not until 1945 that they were repatriated to Poland by the Yugoslav authorities. The family’s housing issues led us to many fascinating discoveries and twists and turns during our search. The most amazing thing, however, was how we found the right heirs… While searching for any mention of the family on Google, we came across an article in Gość Niedzielny. It was a lucky find – it described the fate of the Kaszewik family. Thanks to this, we were able to identify as many as 67 heirs! We then got in touch with Janusz’s nephew, Mr. Włodzimierz, who lives with his family in Lower Silesia. He became our main contact and liaison between us and the rest of the family. As a token of our gratitude, he gave us charming cups from Bolesławiec, which remain in our office and remind us of this extremely intense and challenging search for our inheritance. In our work, we have to be detectives on the trail, using clues to solve the mystery.

Tatiana Midura, Michał Gierszon