I dont understand ???

[Mouseytata]

Maybe I'm being really dim here but can somebody explain what the forum "Strays" is about and how to use it ??.
When I first saw the title I assumed that if I found a person that I thought was connected to me then I could post the details there and I could get help as to if they fitted or not (I do have such a person), but having read the posts for a while it just seem as if people put up random names that they have come across in there research.

This post is not meant to upset/annoy anyone but I just do not understand this section.

Thank you
Bill

[MarkJ]

It is for people to post those odd names we come across which are not in their normal area. For example, if we come across someone who dies in Scotland or the USA for example, but the record states that he was from Cornwall, then that would be a stray.

Mark

[tony vines]

..........and sometimes when during our searches we lose track of an ancestor they may turn up in an unexpected place when we look through lists of strays. Some local FHS societies and interested researchers compile lists of strays for particular areas e.g. English counties. There is one for Northamptonshire for example which is compiled by two very helpful local genealogists but they rely on subscribers to let them know the details of strays found elsewhere who originally came from Northants.

[Mutley]

When I first saw the title I assumed that if I found a person that I thought was connected to me then I could post the details there and I could get help as to if they fitted or not (I do have such a person), but having read the posts for a while it just seem as if people put up random names that they have come across in there research.

This post is not meant to upset/annoy anyone but I just do not understand this section.

Thank you
Bill

Don't worry Bill, your question will not upset or annoy anyone, it is perfectly reasonable.

If you have a person that you want help with, then start a thread telling us all about them, what you know and what you want to know. Post it on the Brick Wall or the General Family History Forum and if a moderator thinks you would get better help elsewhere we can move it for you.

If you are really stuck, then post it in the Strays, if he does not belong to you then he may belong to someone else. ;)

[Carmy]

Your post isn't upsetting at all, Mouseytata.

Some of us who help out by transcribing often find a person listed who may have come from a different area. For example, I transcribe for Wales but I might find someone from Manchester who got married in Wales. Because those searching for that person may not think to look in Wales, I list him or her as a Stray.

[SBSFamilyhistory]

Bill No question is a stupid/annoying question, other than the one that nobody bothered to ask. Nobody can understand everything and I bet there are others who didn't understand what strays were.

Sue

[Mouseytata]

I apoligise for not doing this sooner but have had lot of computer problems just recently, all seems to be sorted now (fingers crossed). And I would like to say thank you for the replys as the strays section now makes sense to me.
Bill.