Can I trace old family contacts from my mum’s address book?

[omghereistrouble]

bit of an odd one but today was sorting out some boxes and you know the sort. stuff you put away when clearing out parents homes etc and do not think about. anyway i came across mums old address book bear in mind she has been gone over 25 years. i was fascinated by the address' in there she was the sort who wrote everyone down! anyway i am well aware most people in there are gone but there were some names and address' of family members i had never known but heard about. is there anyway i can trace the family members like Ancestry which i did do mums and dads family trees but it was very hard knowing if i had got the right people but i am guessing an address would help in some ways/
finally is there anyway that to find the houses who's address' are listed maybe who lives there now and even better i would love to see a photo of it
thankyou

Perhaps you could write a letter to 'the present occupier' at each address, asking whether they know of a person by the name of X. Say you are a distant relative and would much appreciate any information at all they could give you. Apologise for disturbing them. Give them your number and email, and also enclose a stamped addressed envelope so they can reply by post if they prefer. Good luck.

If you just want to see a particular house as it is now you could try putting the address you have into Google Maps Street View and for most towns there will be a recent 'from the street view' of the houses in that location.

I have done this with some of the addresses that my mother's family lived in going back over the years - some houses are long gone and replaced with new build flats etc but others are there - still family homes for someone!

Its funny how an address book can bring back such memories.

I also have my late mother's address book. Unfortunately for me, she was a legal secretary and wrote everything down in shorthand. I've tried asking people who can do shorthand themselves, but they can't make head nor tail of it, and have suggested that she learned shorthand but then adapted it into her own unique style.