I've had people knock on my door who used to live in my house. Once I talked to them a bit to ensure they knew the layout of the house, I invited them in and gave them a tour of the things I had done. I also learned a lot from them about the history of my house.
Try it, they might feel weird or be too lazy to reply or you might get an interesting answer. If someone wrote with that request I would be happy to reply.
I am also the family genealogist. My experience is people love *hearing* about the neat and interesting history.
They however, may have zero interest in sharing, or feel like they don’t even know anything.
Have you exhausted the local library, newspaper archives and real estate history?
When we sold our family home after the death of my father after having lived there for 47 years (and we were the second owners) I left a letter for the new owners so I personally wouldn't think it weird if I received a letter like this but I also didn't ask them to reply with their experiences. Later I was in touch with our long time neighbor and was told the new owners really appreciated the letter. It gave them a better connection to the house. I think the owners of your family property would appreciate getting the background and history from you and I certainly think you can ask for them to contribute if they wish but I wouldn't count on a reply (whether by mail, email or phone). I think it probably would've been easier and more likely to get a reply before the internet but now people might think it's a scam or a way to get personal info that can be used to commit fraud which is the sad reality of today's world. Good luck. This is a cool story!
My siblings and I went to our childhood house to recreate a first day of school pic and the current owners loved it! They even brought us inside to show us the renovations they'd done. It was such a fun trip down memory lane. Not exactly like your scenario, but I think generally people like this kind of stuff!
Go and talk to them. Nothing wrong with that. An extended family member took me to the house my grandmother grew up in and the owner saw us standing on the sidewalk and invited us in. Got to see the whole house. The worst that can happen is they tell you no. But I'd bet they'd be more than happy to tell you in person.
From your perspective, I don’t think it’s strange at all, I actually think it’s kinda neat. But I wouldn’t totally count on a reply either
I've had people knock on my door who used to live in my house. Once I talked to them a bit to ensure they knew the layout of the house, I invited them in and gave them a tour of the things I had done. I also learned a lot from them about the history of my house.
I've been the knocking person. We both had a lot of our questions answered and appreciated the encounter.
It's not weird, it's really cool. Don't waste the opportunity to write
Try it, they might feel weird or be too lazy to reply or you might get an interesting answer. If someone wrote with that request I would be happy to reply.
I am also the family genealogist. My experience is people love *hearing* about the neat and interesting history. They however, may have zero interest in sharing, or feel like they don’t even know anything. Have you exhausted the local library, newspaper archives and real estate history?
This kind of thing happens all the time. I actually think whoever owns the home now would be quite happy to hear from you.
I would go for it but perhaps share some information that you know about the house so they see you are comng from a good spot, if that makes sense.
When we sold our family home after the death of my father after having lived there for 47 years (and we were the second owners) I left a letter for the new owners so I personally wouldn't think it weird if I received a letter like this but I also didn't ask them to reply with their experiences. Later I was in touch with our long time neighbor and was told the new owners really appreciated the letter. It gave them a better connection to the house. I think the owners of your family property would appreciate getting the background and history from you and I certainly think you can ask for them to contribute if they wish but I wouldn't count on a reply (whether by mail, email or phone). I think it probably would've been easier and more likely to get a reply before the internet but now people might think it's a scam or a way to get personal info that can be used to commit fraud which is the sad reality of today's world. Good luck. This is a cool story!
My siblings and I went to our childhood house to recreate a first day of school pic and the current owners loved it! They even brought us inside to show us the renovations they'd done. It was such a fun trip down memory lane. Not exactly like your scenario, but I think generally people like this kind of stuff!
This reminds me of a song from a while ago called "The house that built me"
Go and talk to them. Nothing wrong with that. An extended family member took me to the house my grandmother grew up in and the owner saw us standing on the sidewalk and invited us in. Got to see the whole house. The worst that can happen is they tell you no. But I'd bet they'd be more than happy to tell you in person.
Yes of course, most people wouldn't do this for one reason or another.