European Emigrant
Heritage
Heritage
Our Work
We are an inheritance genealogy company that handles cases where the deceased person or a parent was born in the Soviet Bloc (Bloc). Bloc countries were Communist until 1990 and are shown in pink and red:
We are an inheritance genealogy company that handles cases where the deceased person or a parent was born in the Soviet Bloc (Bloc). Bloc countries were Communist until 1990 and are shown in pink and red:
Example: A Lithuanian Case
Our research of the record property owner Philip LEOPOLD showed that he died thirty years ago, allegedly with no heirs. We commenced genealogical research and after some weeks we discovered that his original name was Pinya LEPAR and that he was not born in Poland as he claimed in his 1953 US citizenship application, but in Kriukai, Lithuania.
Our research of the record property owner Philip LEOPOLD showed that he died thirty years ago, allegedly with no heirs. We commenced genealogical research and after some weeks we discovered that his original name was Pinya LEPAR and that he was not born in Poland as he claimed in his 1953 US citizenship application, but in Kriukai, Lithuania.

To identify his grandparents, European Emigrant Heritage (EEH) used a technique that Detective Colombo → would have liked. We hired the entire class of a university history professor to locate and transcribe all tombstones bearing the paternal surname LEPAR and the maternal surname and their spelling variants.
These enthusiastic students walked hundreds of cemetery rows and transcribed 70+ stones, which eventually led to our finding children of deceased cousins. We obtained distribution of the property to them. Only one had ever heard of Pinya LEPAR / Philip LEOPOLD.
These enthusiastic students walked hundreds of cemetery rows and transcribed 70+ stones, which eventually led to our finding children of deceased cousins. We obtained distribution of the property to them. Only one had ever heard of Pinya LEPAR / Philip LEOPOLD.
RESEARCH PHOTOS
RESEARCH PHOTOS
Village research ↑ James and Volodya of EEH seek memories of past times. "How many children did they have?" "Where were they moved to?"
Soviet Bloc archives ↑ Sniezhana of EEH examines records of Bulgarian prisoners interred in Nazi labour camps.
Example: A Siberian Case
The property owner died in 2009 reportedly with no heirs. Our research discovered that his grandfather had a half brother named Grigoriy KORNEEV. The following letter by EEH describes our solution to the case:
Example: A Siberian Case
The property owner died in 2009 reportedly with no heirs. Our research discovered that his grandfather had a half brother named Grigoriy KORNEEV. The following letter by EEH describes our solution to the case:
...According to Vladimir Dahl’s magnum opus, Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, the definition of “selo” is “A place built and settled by peasants in which there is a church, and sometimes selo consists of many scattered derevnyas all belonging to one congregation and one church.”

The two villages Petroselki Derevnya and Molotychi Selo are only three miles apart (Our Proof #25). From the fact that all derevnyas had to belong to a selo so that its residents would have a church, and from Dahl’s above definitions, we conclude that Petroselki Derevnya belonged to Molotychi Selo. Thus Grigoriy could say he resided in either place...
...It is obvious that Grigoriy KORNEEV and Grigoriy ABALMASOV are the same man. Consider:
1.) Grigoriy KORNEEV and Grigoriy ABALMASOV are both shown in the above records having the same patronymic name, Kuzmin, meaning “son of Kuzma.” The given name “Kuzma” is now, and was in 19th Century Russia, a fairly rare name...
4.) Grigoriy Kuzmin KORNEEV and Grigoriy Kuzmin ABALMASOV both arrived in Siberia in 1896 (Proofs 16 and 17).
5.) Grigoriy Kuzmin KORNEEV and Grigoriy Kuzmin ABALMASOV then lived in the same tiny place, Belovodovskoye Settlement, Mariinsk Okrug, Tomsk Guberniya, Siberia (Proofs #30 & 31)...
6.) It would be an exceedingly unlikely coincidence if two different men with the names Grigoriy Kuzmin, from villages only 3 miles apart (Proof #25), travelled 2,026 miles (Proof #27), to the same tiny Belovodovskoye Settlement, both of them in 1896!...
Sincerely,
James Hannum, Director
European Emigrant Heritage
...It is obvious that Grigoriy KORNEEV and Grigoriy ABALMASOV are the same man. Consider:
1.) Grigoriy KORNEEV and Grigoriy ABALMASOV are both shown in the above records having the same patronymic name, Kuzmin, meaning “son of Kuzma.” The given name “Kuzma” is now, and was in 19th Century Russia, a fairly rare name...
4.) Grigoriy Kuzmin KORNEEV and Grigoriy Kuzmin ABALMASOV both arrived in Siberia in 1896 (Proofs 16 and 17).
5.) Grigoriy Kuzmin KORNEEV and Grigoriy Kuzmin ABALMASOV then lived in the same tiny place, Belovodovskoye Settlement, Mariinsk Okrug, Tomsk Guberniya, Siberia (Proofs #30 & 31)...
6.) It would be an exceedingly unlikely coincidence if two different men with the names Grigoriy Kuzmin, from villages only 3 miles apart (Proof #25), travelled 2,026 miles (Proof #27), to the same tiny Belovodovskoye Settlement, both of them in 1896!...
Sincerely,
James Hannum, Director
European Emigrant Heritage
HEIRSHIP PROOFS
Below are 3 of the 74 proofs EEH discovered and presented in the above case. These 74 proofs established all family tree links, from three generations above the deceased property owner down to his half second cousins twice removed heirs.
DIVIDED FAMILIES
When family members become permanently divided it can falsely appear that a member died with no heirs. Examples:
Forced Migration ↑
Throughout Josef Stalin's long dictatorship (1922-1953) he forcibly resettled millions of people from all over the Bloc, to random other locations in the Bloc, to break up communities and destroy national identities, which he feared would rebel.
A brother would be sent north, a sister south, and perhaps never hear from each other again. In time each branch might forget the other. Some later died with "no heirs."
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Throughout Josef Stalin's long dictatorship (1922-1953) he forcibly resettled millions of people from all over the Bloc, to random other locations in the Bloc, to break up communities and destroy national identities, which he feared would rebel.
A brother would be sent north, a sister south, and perhaps never hear from each other again. In time each branch might forget the other. Some later died with "no heirs."
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World Depression ↑
Shown here is a closed East German bank. No money meant migration to find jobs. From 1920 to 1940 the Depression displaced and divided millions of family members, some of whom later died appearing to have no heirs.
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Shown here is a closed East German bank. No money meant migration to find jobs. From 1920 to 1940 the Depression displaced and divided millions of family members, some of whom later died appearing to have no heirs.
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Gulags ↑
Under Stalin's rule, and then Brezhnev's rule (1960-82), many Bloc men were sent to these Siberian forced labour camps. This ended many marriages, estranged fathers from their children, and siblings from siblings.
A typical case: A daughter estranged at age 6 from her gulag father never knew that she had a half-brother. When she died in 2021 the officials and solicitors found no heirs. EEH found two half-nephews and obtained the estate for them as sole heirs.
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Under Stalin's rule, and then Brezhnev's rule (1960-82), many Bloc men were sent to these Siberian forced labour camps. This ended many marriages, estranged fathers from their children, and siblings from siblings.
A typical case: A daughter estranged at age 6 from her gulag father never knew that she had a half-brother. When she died in 2021 the officials and solicitors found no heirs. EEH found two half-nephews and obtained the estate for them as sole heirs.
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WW II
Most of the fighting in World War II was in the Bloc. Over 30 million Bloc citizens died from combat, bombing, starvation, and cold exposure. Millions more became displaced refugees and emigrants.
In one of EEH's cases a Hungarian soldier was killed in WW II and his widow remarried and had no further contact with the soldier's family. The soldier's mother died in 1964 with assets but reportedly no heirs.
After lengthy research EEH discovered that the soldier had a daughter, and claimed for her as the next of kin of her paternal grandmother. She had always believed that her mother's second husband was her biological father.
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Most of the fighting in World War II was in the Bloc. Over 30 million Bloc citizens died from combat, bombing, starvation, and cold exposure. Millions more became displaced refugees and emigrants.
In one of EEH's cases a Hungarian soldier was killed in WW II and his widow remarried and had no further contact with the soldier's family. The soldier's mother died in 1964 with assets but reportedly no heirs.
After lengthy research EEH discovered that the soldier had a daughter, and claimed for her as the next of kin of her paternal grandmother. She had always believed that her mother's second husband was her biological father.
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War Displacement
Many Jews and others with Bloc heritage have family members whom they believe died in WW II. Most did die, but some survived:
1.) Some fled West before the war and before the Bloc countries became Communist;
2.) Some were evacuated by Stalin to east of Moscow, where Germany never reached;
3.) Some survived the war in German forced labour camps for agriculture and armaments production;
4.) Some fled to neutral countries such as Switzerland and Sweden, or by hiding in forests or farms;
5.) Some were partisans fighting against the Nazis, and some collaborated with the Nazis in order to survive.
6.) Many families could not return to their towns after the war due to war damage and lack of jobs.
All 6 of these events separated people from their families and prevented them from knowing where to look. Years later it can appear that they died with no heirs.
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War Displacement
Many Jews and others with Bloc heritage have family members whom they believe died in WW II. Most did die, but some survived:
1.) Some fled West before the war and before the Bloc countries became Communist;
2.) Some were evacuated by Stalin to east of Moscow, where Germany never reached;
3.) Some survived the war in German forced labour camps for agriculture and armaments production;
4.) Some fled to neutral countries such as Switzerland and Sweden, or by hiding in forests or farms;
5.) Some were partisans fighting against the Nazis, and some collaborated with the Nazis in order to survive.
6.) Many families could not return to their towns after the war due to war damage and lack of jobs.
All 6 of these events separated people from their families and prevented them from knowing where to look. Years later it can appear that they died with no heirs.
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Family Members Not Found ↑
Many tried to find their families on bulletin boards in the years of chaos following WW II.
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Many tried to find their families on bulletin boards in the years of chaos following WW II.
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Emigration
Before and after WW II many Bloc residents emigrated to foreign countries. This led to permanent loss of contact with those left behind, and sometimes led to the death of the emigrant or his Bloc relative with seemingly no heirs.
Before and after WW II many Bloc residents emigrated to foreign countries. This led to permanent loss of contact with those left behind, and sometimes led to the death of the emigrant or his Bloc relative with seemingly no heirs.
CONTACT EEH

Telephone
1 (202) 993-7050

Zoom
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email
Please send all written communication to us by email. After 31 Dec 2022 all paper envelopes, FedEx, etc. will be returned to sender unopened, for photographing and emailing. Thank you for understanding that most of our work is done on the road. We need instant and portable data.
Our email address is [email protected]
Please send all written communication to us by email. After 31 Dec 2022 all paper envelopes, FedEx, etc. will be returned to sender unopened, for photographing and emailing. Thank you for understanding that most of our work is done on the road. We need instant and portable data.
Our email address is [email protected]

email
attachments
Please photo-graph all obituaries, old passports, marriage records, etc. and email to us.
attachments
Please photo-graph all obituaries, old passports, marriage records, etc. and email to us.

Shipping
Ship items that cannot be photographed, such as whole books and whole reels of microfilm, to 700 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20108. Email us the shipping or postal receipt. After 31 Dec 2022 all shipped items that can be photographed will be returned to sender unopened.
Ship items that cannot be photographed, such as whole books and whole reels of microfilm, to 700 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20108. Email us the shipping or postal receipt. After 31 Dec 2022 all shipped items that can be photographed will be returned to sender unopened.

Facebook
To read Facebook posts about EEH's cultural, historical, and genealogical research, see Facebook member James Hannum residing in Washington DC. We don't use Facebook Messenger
To read Facebook posts about EEH's cultural, historical, and genealogical research, see Facebook member James Hannum residing in Washington DC. We don't use Facebook Messenger

Website
The address of this site, our website, is
https://www.EuropeanEmigrantHeritage.com/
[Spell Emigrant with an E.
An Emigrant leaves a country, an Immigrant arrives in a country.]
Website QR code:
Website
The address of this site, our website, is
https://www.EuropeanEmigrantHeritage.com/
[Spell Emigrant with an E.
An Emigrant leaves a country, an Immigrant arrives in a country.]
Website QR code:

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