| Show I Romances of f Forgotten Money I II I I From Prom tho the American n. savings M hank bank that has ha toen established for 25 years has what arc are called dormant accounts account rits deposits which havo lain Iain untouched for y irs Usually the Iho persons who deposited the tho nr are aro and heirs have hare no knowledge knowledge knowl knowl- edge of ot the tho bank account The Tue sum total of these accounts In New York state slate probably runs from to In 1889 the tue thor r report as to the total amount of ot these accounts account to the tho state commissioner of banking was about Since then reports aro arf mado hut but tho the sum Bum total Is not given en Of Ot cour course courso o tho tim sum tinS has grown and t several of ot the saving fI hank authorities put the tho amount unclaimed unclaimed unclaimed un un- un- un claimed at ut fully These accounts are aro troublesome to the tho banks They have havo to be bp carried on tho tim sheets and verified The banks tr try to got ot rid rill of ot them m and many of the larger banks s now employ special l 3 agents to look up lii the owners or 01 tile the heirs liP of tho depositors It Is a custom of some of or the banks bank s to cease to credit Interest on on an account which has lias been sleeping 2 22 years The law recognizes such accounts acco as dormant If no nt change chango has hns been made it In 22 years and md no one has called culled for the tho mone money Twenty years used to be regarded as ns tho the limit hut but when the law Wt was vas passed In tho the late SOs requiring r reports on these ac accounts accounts nc- nc counts the tho term was lengthened to 22 Most of or this mono money Is In the tho savings banks of ot New York City and amI for tor the tho most part such accounts are arc rare In small mall places Ono One reason for this Is that In small sinaI towns town nearly every man who vho dies lleR IS 18 fairly well known locally and the fact that he had a savings bank deposit Is also known Ills heirs got ot In Now New York City the thc monc money quid quickly ew however there are arc thom thousands ands of ot these accounts Few Fow persons are as well known locally In New York as the they I are in smaller places of or the state and It II Is easier eagler for tor savings bank accounts to escape general knowledge Many of tho accounts are aro dormant lormant because their owners have forgotten all about them Some Seine are dormant be because because be- be cause tho the deposits were made mado without the tho knowledge of relatives Many Ian wives save up a little money secretly from their husbands and say nothing about It It Many women RI also o hide bank bankbooks bankbooks books bools so that they are arc not found when the hider dies 1105 Again bank hooks books are arc burned and the heirs of tho the depositors have no knowledge of tho the saYings savings Now ow and then a L miserly tendency leads s perSons persons per per- sons Rons to ke keep p accounts secret from their relatives and friends Sometimes ac accounts accounts accounts ac- ac counts aro are taken on out In assumed names Through man many of these reasons the thc accounts become dormant and the tho of officials of ot the tho banks 9 come to regard them as nuisances Tim The monc money be belongs ho- ho longs to some one The difficulty difficult Is to toI I find the rightful heir IU Rightful h II Heir For many years the banks hanks used to set their clerks clerics and other hunting hunting- up at odd times the tho rightful owners of the mone money Little was ac ac- ac- ac Finally several of ot the thelan lan large e banks secured a special man to look up UI these heirs and now for several years there have o been hen payments made to hun hundreds re s who never knew that they were t entitled to the money It Is a difficult Job to find these heirs After the they are found there must be belc lc legal al proof of ownership Death re records ro- ro cords must he searched proofs of re relationship relationship re- re established and administrators tors must be he appointed Not until all this is done on will the savings savIng's bank let tho money mone go The task Involves not only detective work but le legal al work of or ofa ora a peculiar ability It also involves genealogical training Many dormant dOlmant accounts in this city date from civil war days when the owners never came back The army and find navy records have havo toi tOl be searched In tho the old days death records in this city wore more or less muddled In 1882 a reform was made mt In tho tIto method of keeping keeping- up these records so that since that time It At Is tar far easier to 10 find out labout who havo died H J J ij The Investigator usually takes from the banks bank's books the record of the tho name address and the tho names of oC the i father and mother mothel of ot the depositor I If the they were set sot down At the home ad address address ad- ad dress usually no one Is found who ever heard of tho the depositor In some teno-f teno ments tho the Investigator will go to every overy door calling often on 50 families Perhaps Per Per- haps hap someone will remember r the dead c nd depositor and recall a relative If no other othor means Is 18 found of oC beginning Inning the trace old letters are hunted up In tho the dead mans man's effects Searches of oC tho the death records are made Undertakers of long long- stan standing in the nel neighborhood are questioned Tho books of ot fraternal orders are examined examine Gradually a little littlelight littlelight light breaks In If tho the name I Is peculiar every person of the thc name In the city Is written n to and so tho the goes Joes on On One of ot the cases which ha hap puzzled one of ot those agents Is that of ot a n man whose name namo might be called Williams but A A. hunt of or months has hns established ju Just t one ono fact tact about Williams ItIs It ItIs ItIs Is that he was wn a bounty Jumper In tho the civil war and to hide hido hl Identity do- do posited d his mono money under an assumed um name namo Tho The heirs of ot bounty jumper Williams will probably never nt got get what he ho deposited The amount involved hn Is 1300 OO One of ot the richest st women of ot Now ew York tho the widow of a man mon whose name was vas one of or the greatest powers In railroading rail rail- reading In this co was surprised recently to know she he had r OGO comIng coming com corn ing lag to hor her Sho Bhe had hall forgotten all about t the matter motter She Sho deposited tho money monor 1 In early life when he she was wa another mans man's wife and was struggling a along alon It was only a small sum Then Rl Rh married Into great wealth She Rhe n never ner er I had need 1 of money As the years went by silo h m forgot all about the moll modest est bunk bank deposit of her youth and was simply astonished d about three y year nr a ago o to lo learn that under her former r name annie there was a deposit In a ti certain bank amounting to The bank s officials had not connected tho thio name nameon on Ott their books with tho ho widow She took tho the money and said paid she hf na was glad lod to find such painstaking effort shown i h by the tho bank hanle people In ono one of the accounts all that was wan known of ot the man who put tho the mon money y yon on deposit was Wa aS that he made mado the tip do- posit before ho went to the civil war All Alt trace race of him was lo lost t after that Finally It by a a. search of ot tho the a army rill re records records rp- rp cords It was WS learned a man 1010 of that name had gone gono to Texas to live A hunt In Texas disclosed the whereabouts whereabouts where where- of the tho man lie lIc J proved ro rod d hl his identity and said lie ito had forgotten about t the deposit After Arter serving In the time army until the tho close of the thc war hI he settled In the South an and had worked hard bard for a living The Time he orl originally originally origin origin- ln- ln ally p dt deposited It Il had grown to about COO I Another case settled r recently was Va I that of or a mechanic In Brooklyn who i 2 years ago ao when ho was wa in business on his hin own own account had had lied ursa hank bank account Affairs with him went vent from irom bad to worse Tho hank had not heard of or him for more than thon 20 O years Ho no 11 had d moved mO away from where he hc I used to live Gradually he ho was wa hunted down clown and he and his wife were told that nearly 1000 belonged PIl to them I Ithe ii the man maim could prove pro Identity B By that time he lie had forgotten that tha ho he over r had an account In that bank All that he ho recalled was that once h he had a savings bank account but just jus where whore he did lid not nol rem remember At an any rate was sure sura that ho had drawn ou out all 11 his mone money years 13 and years ago Thaman That Tha man would not be bo convinced that time the money on deposit was hIs The bank people had to got get et his relatives e to reason rca rea son soil with him It was a 0 long IonS time before before before be be- fore he would come to the tho bank banle am and give a duplicate u of or his hI 81 signature There was no doubt of or his Identity after he came and then h ho he re recalled ailed the tho former deposit 1 t One of time the most peculiar cases was when a discovery discover was made that an account for several thousands of or dollars dollars dol del lars belonged to a very rich man In New York who for tor nearl nearly 10 years ears had hac gone one und under r an assumed name For a reason Involving In family matters he had hac changed ed his name He lie had become rich lIe He knew that ho had a n. hank bank ac account account account ac- ac count under his old name but hut had de decided decided de- de never to claim It because i it would reveal roveal his secret He lie didn't need the monc The matter motter was traced out and he was confronted with his real name and tho the facts In the case Ho stoutly denied that he was tho the man He lie said he ho had never nevor heard of the tho old name Absolute proof was presented to him Still ho would not flot acknowledge that ho was the man muan Finally a n. suit was threatened b by the bank to compel him bin to take tho mone money That brought him lown down Publicity was imminent and he compromised promising to take the money If It tho tIme bank of officials tic In Is would not nol disclose the facts in tho ho case c. Under such a n. promise he lie went to the bank baul signed his old name took the money moncy and continued to live 11 under his assumed name namo Thero There was another case In which a n woman had deposited money in three banks under different names She Sho was wass s saving tho the mone money for children a about out whose parentage there thore was some ques ques- tion In one of the banks anks she sho used her right name She died lc and tho the banks tried hard to lo clear up the accounts Final Finally Filially It was established b by handwriting handwriting hand hand- writing exports that ono one woman had deposited tho the mone money In all the banks and after a n long hunt her heirs were found and trIO accounts wiped or off tho the books j i v Oppose Rc Reisin to State tn e. e The fact that It Is pos possible to find a 1 largo large number of the heirs to thoo deposits de do- e- e I posits has made savings bank hank people oppose very bitter bitterly the effort of legislators legislators legis logis- to pass bills ollis providing pro that the mono money In fn dormant savings saYings bank ac acCounts accounts accounts ac- ac counts shall shah revert reven to tho the state The bank officials say nay that this money mone really belongs to someone Oni OnlIn In a few tew cases If It In any are there no heirs Involved With the tIme Improved cd system of ot record keeping that now obtains In municipal and business affairs affairs af nf- af- af fairs It Is possible to get gel a pretty good trace of almost anyone anono who has died even after 20 or 01 30 years cars As the years pass pasa It will bo be more and more easy to trace these heirs The money belongs to them and It I Is held that It Is akin to robbery to step In and take takeaway takeaway away mone money from persons persona whose right right- fat ful ownership can be proved pro The TIme accounts are now non welt divided up among tho the old established banks hanks When hen the reports of ot 1880 wore made to the tho sto sta state to banking commission showing that th thorn ro W was WS S about of or unclaimed unclaimed un un- un- un claimed deposits the peculiar f feature turo was disclosed that about aboul ono one of or It was In the thc Bank of Savings Sa In this elt city No such a as aN that now exists Tho other hank banks havo o como come to tte front with Ith th their lr accounts Ono One o ot of the bank however fw r has made mado such suell an In ef of- of fort to hunt out the tho owners of these deposits that the sum still hung up Is decidedly less than a 0 dozen years ago |
