Show I MONEY THAT HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN FORGOTTEN II Baltimore Balmore American Every savings bank that has been es established e for tor years ye rs has what are arc called dormant accounts de deposits deposits posits which have hac lain untouched for years ear Usually the persons who depos deposited deposited the money are arc dead and their heirs have no knowledge of the bank ac account account account count 1 The sum suni total of ot these accounts in int t I New York state probably runs from to In 1889 the report as a to the total amount of ot these ac accounts accounts accounts counts to the stale commissioner of banking was about Since then reports are made but tle sum to total total total tal Is not given Of Ot course the sum has grown and several sc era of the savings bank authorities put the he a amount nt un unclaimed unclaimed claimed at rat fully These Thele accounts are troublesome troubles ne to the banks They have to be carried on the balance sheets verified The banks try to get rid of them and many of ot the larger banks now employ special agents to look up the owners or the heirs of the depositors It I Is a custom of some of the banks to cease ta to to credit credi Interest on an account aCL which has been sleeping years The law recognizes such accounts as dormant if I no change lias lvis been made In twenty two years and no one on has called caled for tor the money Twenty years used to be re regarded regarded regarded as the limit but when the law was passed in the late SOs requiring re reports reports reports ports on these accounts the term was lengthened to tern I this money is in the savings I banks of New York city elt and for the most part such accounts are ate rare in small smal places One reason for this is small sinaI smal towns nearly every ever man who dies Is fairly well wel known locally I and the fact that he had a savings svIng bank deposit is also known His heirs got the money mone quickly In New York city however there are thousands of or these accounts Few persons are as well wel I known in New York as they are In 1 smaller places of the state and it is easier casler for savings bank accounts to es escape escape escape cape general generl knowledge Many of the accounts are arc dormant dorant because their owners have forgotten n nan all an about them Some are dormant be because because cause the deposits were pre made without the knowledge of relatives Many wives save up a little money secretly from their husbands and say sy nothing about It lt Many women also hide bank books boks so go that they are not found when the hider dies Again bank books are burned and the heirs of ot the depositors have no knowledge of the savings Now No and then a miserly tendency leads per persons perSons sons to keep accounts secret tom from their relatives and friends Sometimes ac accounts accounts accounts counts are arc taken out In assumed assume names Through many of these th e reasons the ac accounts accounts accounts counts become be ome dormant and the ofil officials of cals of the banks bank come to regard them themas as nuisances The money belongs to some one The difficulty is to find the rightful heir Tracing Rightful Heirs For many years the banks used to set their clerks and other hunting up at odd times the rightful owners of the money Little LItle was ac accomplished accomplished Finally Finaly several of tl te e elarge large banks secured a special man nian to look up these heirs heir and now for sev several several several eral years there have been payments to hundreds who never knew that they were entitled to the money It I Is a difficult job to find these heirs heir After Ater they are arc found there must be le legal legal legal gal proof of ownership Death rec records records records must be searched proofs of ot rela relationship ton established and administrators tors tore must be appointed Not until all al this Is done will wl the savings bank let the money go The task Involves s not only ohly detective work but I legal work of ofU U a peculiar pe ular ability abUt I ao involves gen genealogical genealogical training Many dormant dorant accounts in this city date dato from civil civi war days das when the owners never came back back The army and navy nav records have to be searched In the old days death records in this city were more or less muddled In 1882 a reform was made in the method of keeping up these records so that since that time it is far easier to find out about those who have died die The Investigator usually takes from the banks books the record of the name and address and the names of or the father and mother of ot the depositor If i they were set dowl At the home address usually usual no one Is found who ever heard of the depositor In some tenements the Investigator will vIll wl go to every door calling often on fifty families Per Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps haps some one will wi remember the dead depositor and recall a relative If I no other means is found of beginning the 1 trace old letters are hunted up In the I dead mans effects Searches of or the th death records are made Undertakers of long standing In lii the neighborhood are arc questioned The books boks of fraternal orders order are examined Gradually a lit little l littie tie tle te light breaks In If I the name is a peculiar one every person of the name In the city Is written to and so the chase char goes on oil One of the cases which has puzzled one of these agents agets is that of or a man whose name might be called caned Williams but A hunt of months has es established es established just one ne fact act abou Williams It I is that he was a bounty bonty jumper in the civil cIvi war and to hide his identity de deposited deposited posited his money under an assumed name The heirs heir of bounty bount jumper Williams will wi probably never get what he deposited The amount Involved Is One of the richest richet women In lii New NewYork NewYork NewYork York the widow of a man whose name was one of ot the greatest powers in rail rl Wading ading in this tills country was surprised recently to know that she had coming to her She had forgotten all aU about the matter mater She deposited the them money m ney In early life when she was an another another other mans wife and was struggling along It I was only a small smal sum Then she married maried Into great geat wealth She never had need of money As the years went vent by she forgot all at about the modest bank deposit of her youth and was sim aim simply simply ply astonished about three years year ago agoto agoto agoto to learn that under her former name there was a a deposit in a certain certin bank amounting to The banks officials of dais cale had hd not connected the name on their books with wih the widow She took the th money and said she was glad to find such painstaking effort efort shown by bythe bythe bythe the bank people In one of the accounts all al that was known of the man who put the money mone on deposit was that he made the de deposit deposit deposit posit before he ho went to the civil civi war warAn All An trace of him was lost after that that Finally Finaly by a search of the army ary rec records records ors It was learned leared that a man of that name had gone to Texas to live A hunt huntIn huntin In Texas disclosed the whereabouts of the man mail He proved his identity and said he lie had forgotten about the deposit After serving sering in the until the close of the war he settled set ted in the south and had worked hard for a living The he ha originally deposited had grown to about abut 1600 Another case cas settled recently was wa that of a mechanic in Brooklyn who years ago when he was wa In business on his own account had had hada a savings bank deposit Affairs with wit him went from baa bad to worse wore The bank hank had not heard h ard of him for fo more than twenty years yer He had moved away from where he used to live Uve Gradually he was hunted hunte down and he and his wife rife wie were told that nearly 1000 10 be belonged belonged belonged longed to them If ir he the man could prove his Identity i iBy t By that time h hf had forgotten that AL he had an account in ip that bank All Al that he recalled was wa that once he had a savings bank account but just where he did not remember At any rate he was sure that he had ha drawn out all aU his money years yer and years ago That man would not be convinced that the money on oo 0 deposit was his The bank people had to get his relatives to reason with wih him It I was a long time before he would come to the bank and give a duplicate of his signature There was no doubt of his hi Identity after he came and then lie he recalled the former deposit One of the mast most peculiar cases was I when a discovery discover was wa made that an account for several thousands of dol dollars dollars dollars lars belonged to a very rich man in New York who for nearly forty years had gone under an assumed name For Fora a reason Involving family matters maters he lie had changed his name Ho He had be become become become come rich rih He knew that he had a bank account under his old name but butha had ha decided never to claim caim it i because ft ft would reveal his secret He reed need reed the money mony The matter mater was traced out and lie h was confronted with his real name lame and ant the facts in the ease case He stoutly stout de denied denle denied nied that he was was the man He said aid Id he had never heard of the old name Absolute proof prof was presented presEnted to him Still he would not acknowledge that he was the man Finally FInaly a suit was threatened by the bank to compel him bun bunto to take the money That brought him down Publicity was imminent and he lie compromised promising to take the money If i the bank officials would not disclose the facts In the case Under such a promise he went to the bank signed his old name took the money and Jd continued to live lve under his as assumed a assumed name There was another case cas in which a woman had deposited money in three banks under different names She was wa saving tho the money for tor children about whose parentage there was some ques question queston tion In one of the banks she used her hor ton right name She died and the banks tried trie hard to t clear cicar clar up the accounts Finally FInaly It i was established by hand handwriting handwriting writing experts that one woman had deposited the money In all al the banks and after ater a long hunt her heirs heir were found books and the the accounts wiped off of the Oppose Reversion to State The Tho fact that It I is possible to find a large lare number of the heirs to these de PC sits has made savings Sings bank people oppose very ver bitterly the effort of leg legislators legislator legislators to pass pas bills bis providing that the in dormant savings bank ac accounts accounts accounts counts shall revert to the state The bank officials say sy that this money ey really realy belongs belo ng to someone Only I in a few ca casts s If any are there no heirs Involved With the improved Improve system of record keeping that now ob oil obtains oU In municipal and business busness affairs it I is possible to get a pretty good trace of almost anyone who has died die even after ater twenty or thirty years As the years ears pass pas it ft I will wi be more and more easy to tW trace these heirs The money belongs to them and it I Is held that It Itis ItIs itIs is akin to robbery robber to step in and a take takeaway takeaway from whose right rightful away money persons ful ownership can be proved The Te accounts are now well wel divided up among the banks When the reports of 1889 were made to the state stae banking b commission show showing showing showing ing that there was wa about 2000 of unclaimed deposits the peculiar fea tea feature feature ture was wa disclosed that about of It I was wa In 11 the Bank for Savings In Inthis Inthis inthis this city No such percentage as that now flow exists The Te other oter banks ban Its have come to the front with wih their accounts One Ona of or the banks baks however has ha made such an effort efort to hunt out the th owners of these deposits that the sum still sUI hung up is decidedly less lEsS than a dozen years ago |