The Family Tree, the largest genealogical newspaper in the world—and pride of the Odom Library in Georgia—printed it's last hard edition with the June/July, 2004 issue. It can now be found online at http://electricscotland.com. Since June/July, 2002, it had been a dual edition, both online and in print, but is now exclusively online.
Beth Gay, the editor-in-chief, said in a recent interview that the cessation of the printed edition after 15 years is "bittersweet, but something that was inevitable." She said that with rising operation costs, "I feel as if the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders, as finding $150,000 a year was HARD and became ... impossible."
The electronic edition will continue on a bi-monthly (once every two months) basis, and will include such items as news, a classified section, reunions, listings of Scottish clans, and Parade of Tartans.
Beth mentioned that "there will be lots of new features." But in a letter to the subscribers, said, "it will take a little while to get everything going ... but I am excited about the prospects for the future of The Family Tree."
The website receives over 20,000 visits per day, and The Family Tree will "be a part of the largest Scottish historical site on the entire World Wide Web," she added.
Beth can be contacted at bethscribble@aol.com.
