Person says wants to know how to get letters back to family, asks if I'm Kin.

[mozartbach1971]

I have some letters listed and a person messaged me and said they are his great aunt and uncle, and says I don't know who you are or how you got these, but I would like to know if we are kin and says my mom wants them please let me know how we can get them back to our family. Later they sent another message and asked if I'm getting the e-mails and the family is anxious to know how they are on here. I do from time to time get messages somewhat similar to this, however not that often.  I usually try to ignore these messages. Would that be the right thing to do in this case?

[a_c_green]

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@mozartbach1971 wrote:

The person e-mailed me again and said either your not checking your e-mails or this is a scam, first of all that's my family, however that street address has never existed, if these are real I want them and will pay. 

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Oh, for pity's sake; this is getting ridiculous. Claiming "that street address has never existed" doesn't even make sense.

Just stop responding. Steady as she goes. Sell to the highest bidder. Add that doofus to your Blocked Bidder List (here) and let him go bug someone else from here on.

[maxine*j]

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@jayjaspersgarage wrote:

"This is an old, old ploy in the antiques trade and it is naive to take such claims at face value. "

There are also unscrupulous or unqualified people working in the antique furniture world claiming valuable Eames mid century furniture is not original or they make ridiculous offers to sell on consignment.  

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Absolutely.  But that's another topic.   (And sometimes, yeah, the scheming buyers and the scamming dealers do deserve each other.)

=

[a_c_green]

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

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“Dear Ferrari,

My last name is Ferrari. Please give the company to me because we want it back with the family.”

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Har! I have to add this: too many years ago now (late 1980s, actually), my company sent us on several business trips to Detroit, and one of our co-workers had the last name (before she got married) of Ford. She was no relation to the car dynasty, but we'd always make the trip reservations in her name, just to see the reactions when we checked in and she slid her driver's license across the counter.

Whenever we were in Dearborn to visit Ford in particular, she was always honest (if asked) to say that she was no relation, but we'd get royal treatment regardless, and I always thought that might have been because they thought she was trying to be an undercover family spy or something... 😅

[katzrul15]

@mozartbach1971 

I would not delete the emails, as you might need them.

I would block this Buyer and I would not respond at all.

It gets harder to make a living on this site every dang day.  A normal person would not write to you like that and this person is trying to scare you into a discussion you do not want, nor need to have.  

After today's email to you, I think it is a scam.  Or someone who rides the fruitloop train.  Either way, BBL and sell these to someone who really wants them, will appreciate them!!

I have looked at your listings a couple of times and you have some really neat items, full of history.  I don't usually collect things like that, but it is intriguing so say the least.  Good luck.  

[bigdeals.etc]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

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“Dear Ferrari,

My last name is Ferrari. Please give the company to me because we want it back with the family.”

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Har! I have to add this: too many years ago now (late 1980s, actually), my company sent us on several business trips to Detroit, and one of our co-workers had the last name (before she got married) of Ford. She was no relation to the car dynasty, but we'd always make the trip reservations in her name, just to see the reactions when we checked in and she slid her driver's license across the counter.

Whenever we were in Dearborn to visit Ford in particular, she was always honest (if asked) to say that she was no relation, but we'd get royal treatment regardless, and I always thought that might have been because they thought she was trying to be an undercover family spy or something... 😅

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On the next episode of Undercover Boss.

I wonder what treatment would I get if I showed up there with my ID. My last name is Chevrolet. 🙂

[gjs_16]

On a day, I might inform this scammer buyer that in order to transfer the property we must have the 

Affidavit of Heirship filled out and notarized. That first component would be the Declaration of Relation.

The second component is a declaration of knowing the deceased. Written in the first person, it declares the Affiant knew the decedent, including the name, time, cause, and place of death, as well as the relationship to the Affiant.

The third component of the Affidavit of Heirship template is the marital status and marital history of the departed at the time of death. This is relevant since not only current but past spouses may also have claims to the estate in certain states and under certain conditions. The next component of any free Affidavit of Heirship will be a family history, including a comprehensive list of known surviving heirs.

* These must come with signatures of all claimants, in lieu of claimants the form can be submitted as a NOA (No other affiliations) template under Section III paragraph 5.14

Finally, the document concludes with a declaration by the Affiant written in the first person, that the information above is true and comprises the whole of the Affiant’s knowledge on the deceased.  It ends with a space for a signature, a date, and another mark for the notary public officiating the proceedings.

Legal Considerations for an Affidavit of Heirship

• Required Signatures

To be effective, an Affidavit of Heirship has to be taken before a notary public and signed by 2 disinterested third parties who have personal knowledge of the decedent and his or her family. Most importantly, the witnesses must swear that, based on their personal knowledge of the decedent and his or her family, the persons listed as the decedent's heirs in the document are in fact his or her true heirs.  A notary signature and notary seal are required.

And last but certainly not least:

• Filing an Affidavit of Heirship

An Affidavit of Heirship must be filed with the county records of the county where the property is situated. Usually, after having been on record for a number of years, an Affidavit of Heirship that was filed properly will be deemed valid. Until then, some title companies will have a problem with you trying to sell or transfer title to the property to any third party.

The buyer should proceed with due haste since the auction will proceed unless proper documentation and just cause can be shown, also as a friendly reminder the authorities will verify all information prior to any transfer.

And thank them so much for reaching out, and best wishes to them and their family.

[toysaver]

"however that street address has never existed"

This may be true.  That's why the letters (my guess is WWII OK) show no street address, just a street name and a PO Box.   They must have lived out in the country.   The PO likely would have delivered with the name alone back then, small town - everybody knew everybody.   People wrote and received many letters everyday back then.  It was a differrent world.  It doesn't look like your stuff goes for big bucks so hopefully the kid figures out how to rightfully get them. 

What about the other 10,000 or so letters missing from the family archieve?  Are they on the hunt for those?

[katzrul15]

@mozartbach1971 

Do the letters themselves detail anything overly personal that as a family you would not want shared? 

Your listings state you do not "read" them.  Do you truly not?

[soh.maryl]

I'm pretty sure that's not the scenario in this case.

[maxine*j]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

Related letters (going back over 100 years), family pictures, certified death and birth records, wills and trusts, military paperwork, medals of service/honor, patches, newspaper articles with pics, university awards and transcripts, our own personal library of books with original hand written notes and references, travel postcards..... name it.

No joke, I'm from a family savers. I could prove provenance in 30 seconds flat.

One of my favs is my mom's letter (old carbon copy) to their landscaper in 1957... illustrating the math using measurements and the original sod quote... demanding a $1.37 refund.

She took frugal and expectations of customer service to a new level.

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@this*old*attic 

That is an interesting general response but I'm still wondering what brief, acceptable proof might be given to a seller to establish a definite family connection to a batch of old letters. 

Most people have nothing like amount of documented family history you have and, in any event, no seller could look at all that, or even make heads or tails of it if willing to do so. 

So, I'm still sitting here thinking, "In a messaging exchange, with money at stake, what would someone have to tell me to convince me I had up for sale something so meaningul that I should 'work with the family' to get it back to them on my nickel?"

As an aside, families like yours always fascinate me, as I know next to nothing about my own.   (Of course, that might be a good  thing... )

=

[soh.maryl]

Wow!

[soh.maryl]

I don't think the OP is related to the family involved in the letters in question; therefore, it doesn't seem like there would be any details in the letters that he did not want to share.  

It's more like someone is claiming the letters belong to his family members and he is (subtly) asking that they be returned to him.  

[katzrul15]

Just wondered if there was anything overly personal in them.  Was guessing no, but who knows.

[this*old*attic]

@maxine*j 

Quick and dirty, rather than a complete stroll down memory lane?

...A complete, unbroken line of census records and birth/marriage/death certificates/wills/immigration paperwork/etc. for 5 generations back and going sideways 3-5 "removeds" depending on what could be obtained or copied.

Mormons do this standing on their heads, for religious reasons.

I just come from a super sentimental family, fascinated by our family history.

You realize you can find everything from army discharges to baptism records to literal photographs of dead relative's head stones on a variety of sites? Family history is all the rage now.

[a_c_green]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

Just wondered if there was anything overly personal in them.  Was guessing no, but who knows.

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I think if I was a genuine family member trying to recover some family letters that had leaked to the outside world, especially if there was anything "overly personal" in them, I'd shut up about it, bid to win, and quietly take back possession of them.

The last thing I'd do is contact the seller to plead about how badly I wanted them back.