Gift the history of any location.
A digital gift card for Aubrey Research, delivered by email: the full history of a location, from the ground beneath it to the people who lived on it, researched and written for them. Give one report, or three or twelve months of unlimited access.
Choose a gift
Why this one
- They choose the location, so you do not need their address.
- It arrives by email on the day you choose, or straight away.
- No card details from them, nothing renews, nothing to cancel.
- The code stays valid for twelve months from purchase.
How it works
- 1Choose the gift and write them a message.
- 2Send it now, or pick the morning it arrives.
- 3They claim it, choose a location, keep it.
The questions it answers
What is the history of the land it stands on?
Land cessions on record, Native heritage, National Register listings, the geology underneath, and any Civil War action fought nearby. This is the part nobody expects and everybody reads first.
Who was raised and who fought near here?
The regiments raised nearby, the engagements on record and the soldiers in the service registers, tied to this location rather than to the war in general.
What is listed or protected near here?
National Register listings near the location, what each one is and why it was listed. This is the largest single record the report draws on.
Who held this land, and how did it change hands?
The nations documented on this ground, the cessions on record where there are any, and how the land passed into private hands.
Who it suits
Gifts for history buffs who have everything
The hardest person to buy for, because they already own the books. Nobody has given them the history of their own doorstep.
Gifts for Civil War buffs
The regiments raised nearby, the engagements on record and the soldiers in the service registers, tied to one location rather than a general history of the war they have already read three times.
Gifts for genealogy lovers, beyond the DNA kit
They have the names and the dates, and they have almost certainly been given a DNA test already. What they do not have is the ground: the land records, the Native heritage and the history of the place their family came from.
Someone who has just moved
Somewhere new is a question mark. This is the history of the ground it stands on, and a far better housewarming present than another candle.
Questions about the gift itself
Where can they research?
Anywhere in the United States or the United Kingdom. They choose the country when they claim it, so a gift bought here still works for someone living in Britain. They place a pin on a map, so it can be a specific address, a small town, or a stretch of open land, and Aubrey researches that point and the ground around it.
What do they actually get?
An interactive report on a location they choose, in around eighteen sections: National Register listings, the geology underneath, Native heritage and the land cessions on record, settlement and community, Civil War engagements and the regiments raised nearby, historical maps, notable people, and a timeline drawing it together. Which sections appear depends on what the record holds for that place. It is saved to their account permanently, so it stays theirs to return to. With three or twelve months of unlimited access they can do this for as many locations as they like.
How long does a report take?
Up to ten minutes. It opens on screen as the sections finish and keeps filling in behind them, and it is saved to their account, so they can close the page and come back to it.
What if they do not like the location they picked?
They confirm the location before anything is used. They can drag the pin to the exact spot, change it again on the next screen, and the last step names the location and asks them to start. Once a report has started it is fixed to that point, and a different location is a different report.
How does the gift reach them, and can I choose when?
By email, and you choose when: straight away, on Christmas Day, or on a date you pick. Nothing reaches them before then. You get your confirmation as soon as you have paid, and a note from us once the gift has gone.
What do they have to do to claim it?
Open the email and follow the link. If they are new, they make an account and the gift is already on it. If they have one already, they sign in. They can also type the code in themselves on the claim page. Then they choose their location.
Do they need to pay anything or give card details?
No, never. You have paid for it. They are not asked for a card at any point, nothing renews, and there is nothing for them to cancel.
What happens if they already subscribe?
We add it to the end of what they already have, rather than running the two alongside each other, so they get every day of what you bought.