Thanks so much for your time, Ms. XXXX, have a great day. I was pretty sure I had my grandparents. When I placed this call I got my grandfather who went down thru the generations from the Civil War and ended with himself and his wife. Then I asked if his kids had kids and he said his son did not but his daughter had 3. I could have stopped here and later sent a letter or flowers.
Letters work a lot too.
They allow the receiver to digest the info and to read without reacting like they might in a phone call. On the other hand, letters can get to the wrong people and sending certified can maybe compromise the recipient. Also, for some people, letters are ignorable where a phone call is not. And flowers have to be explained to whoever lives in the house. It can help if there is an answering machine when you call.