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Turning those manuscripts into eBooks and POD books would not be out of the question, and self-publishing is very accessible these days.
You would still need someone to edit, format and publish - then of course comes the marketing part, which is where the real work lies if you expect to sell them...
If the books have never been published, and there are no copyrights filed in the US, then the rights likely to belong to the family. I would consider filing for rights in the US - though the reality of the law is once written, it is protected.
The big concern I would have would be that they might have been published in part in some early periodical, in which case the contract there might have passed along rights. Just something to consider.
I would never consider entering into an agreement "in good faith" when it comes to something with potential monetary gain, human nature being what it is.
It sounds like you will need to hire someone to edit, format and distribute the eBooks and POD book in the proper formats. Royalties would be paid to the "publisher" who submits the books to the various eBook stores - so unless you want to set up something where the grandson gets paid through a third party, you might want to get a family member to learn that role.
Good luck.
If you would like to talk more about what I think your options would be, feel free to PM me or contact me through my signature.
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