Sheffield history: The people who died leaving an unclaimed estate – and how you could inherit the fortune

The details of dozens of people who died in Sheffield and left assets but no will or known blood relatives are revealed on a government website.

The deaths go back 29 years to 1992 – with the deadline to make a claim set at 30 years from the date of death. Estates where the time limit has expired are removed from the list.

The strangely titled Bona Vacantia department deals with ‘vacant goods and ownerless property’ which by law passes to the Crown when someone dies with no known next of kin.

The Treasury Solicitor acts for the Crown to administer the estates of people who die intestate – without a will – and it publishes a list with details of deceased people in an attempt to trace relatives.

Some of the people who died in Sheffield came to the city from the other side of the world including Jamaica, India, Yemen, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Others moved here from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

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Two of the people were born in the early part of the 20th century. Lillian O’Farrell was born in 1912 in London and died aged 90 in Sheffield.

Samuel Abberey was born in what is now Pakistan in 1913 and was 79 when he died in Sheffield in 1992.

The information about deceased people is passed on by a number of organisations including banks, hospitals, local councils and the Post Office. One Londoner’s details came from the parish records of a Catholic church.

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While there’s scant detail about some people, others have a bit more information. One man, Alan Allen, was originally from Burnley but died in Sheffield aged 83 in 1999. He is believed to have left four daughters and a brother.

Raj Parmar, who died in Sheffield in 2010, was originally from Bombay, India and was formerly known as Edward Joseph D’Souza. He was married in 1990.

If someone dies without leaving a will, a spouse or civil partner is entitled to the estate first. The next priority are children, grandchildren, parents, then siblings who share both parents.

You can view the list and make a claim at www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unclaimed-estates-list.