About Us – The Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives (GG Archives)

Welcome to the Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives, a leading independent online archive specializing in social and cultural history. Since our founding in 2000, we've been dedicated to preserving and sharing primary source materials that bring the past vividly to life.

Our collections are trusted by genealogists, historians, students, educators, collectors, writers, and film/TV producers who seek authentic, well-documented materials to enrich research, storytelling, and teaching.

📊 Quick Facts

• Founded: 2000 (online since the early 2000s)
• Pages Available: Over 7,400 HTML pages of curated history
• Digitized Images: Nearly 19,500 unique images (restored and cataloged)
• Core Collections: Immigration, Ocean Travel, Military, Vintage Fashion, WPA, Influenza, Bangor Punta, Special Collections
• Audience: Educators, students, genealogists, historians, families, and lifelong learners
• Access: 100% free, ad-supported, no paywalls
• Educational Use: Designed for middle school (13+) through college, with citations, glossaries, essay prompts, and classroom-ready materials

🌟 Mission & Tagline

Mission: The GG Archives preserves and shares primary source materials — passenger lists, military yearbooks, vintage fashion, immigration documents, and ephemera — to tell the human side of history. By making these resources freely available online, we empower students, educators, genealogists, and historians to explore and connect with the past.

Tagline: Privately stewarded, publicly accessible — GG Archives preserves the ephemera that tells the human side of history.

📜 What We Offer

Explore thousands of original documents, photographs, and artifacts spanning the late 19th through mid-20th centuries. Our collections are organized thematically to make research easier and more rewarding.

🌊 Ocean Travel Collection

Our flagship collection features:

• Passenger lists

• Steamship and ocean liner brochures

• Passage contracts

• Onboard programs and menus

• Ship histories

Whether you're tracing an ancestor's voyage or studying the golden age of ocean liners, you'll find unmatched detail here.

🗽 Immigration Records

Documenting the journey to America:

• Immigrant inspection cards

• Ship manifests

• Contracts of passage

• Rare photos of ports, customs, and Ellis Island arrivals

An essential resource for genealogical research.

🚢 RMS Titanic Collection

A dedicated digital exhibit exploring:

• Rare ephemera

• Passenger experiences

• Historical context
  Perfect for students, Titanic enthusiasts, and educators.

🍽️ Epicurean Collection

Menus and culinary ephemera offering a taste of:

• Shipboard dining

• Grand hotels

• Historic restaurants

A treasure trove for culinary historians.

🪖 Military & Wartime History

Covering:

• U.S. involvement in World Wars I and II

• The Influenza Pandemic of 1918–1919

• Troop transport and wartime shipping

Ideal for academics, educators, and descendants of veterans.

👗 Vintage Fashion Collection

Explore styles worn while traveling in style and comfort:

• Women’s, men’s, teen’s, and children’s clothing

• Accessories

• Advertisements and fashion plates from the late 1800s to mid-1900s

🏛️ Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Discover the history of the New Deal's most famous program:

• Original documents

• Ephemera

• Photos of WPA projects

🏢 Bangor Punta Corporation Collection

A unique corporate history archive documenting:

• Marketing materials

• Artifacts

• Business history from the 1960s–1980s

⭐ Who Uses the GG Archives?

We serve:

• Genealogists verifying family history

• Academics and students researching social and cultural history

• Writers and filmmakers seeking authentic visuals

• Collectors and history buffs exploring ephemera

• Educators developing engaging course materials

🙌 Why Choose Us?

✅ Thousands of digitized primary source documents
✅ High-resolution images for licensing and research
✅ Curated, organized collections for easier discovery
✅ Expertly maintained by archivist Paul K. Gjenvick, MAS

Our mission is to make history accessible, authentic, and useful for everyone.

🎓 For Educators & Homeschooling Families

The GG Archives is designed to be a trusted resource for the classroom and the kitchen table alike. From middle school through graduate research, our materials provide authentic primary sources, curated summaries, and teaching-ready tools.

• Middle School (13+): Safe, age-appropriate introductions to immigration, ocean travel, military history, and fashion. Includes glossaries and Did You Know? highlights to spark curiosity.
• High School: Rich essay prompts, passenger lists, primary documents, and fashion house profiles to support research papers and classroom projects.
• College & University: Primary sources, bibliographies, and citation-ready material for history, fashion, sociology, and genealogy courses.
• Homeschooling Families: Flexible resources to design lessons on history, civics, genealogy, or cultural studies — with ready-made citations and visually engaging ephemera to hold student interest.

All materials are free to access and curated for educational use, making the GG Archives a valuable companion for teachers, parents, and lifelong learners alike.

👤 About Our Archivist

Led by Paul K. Gjenvick, MAS, a dedicated historian and archivist with decades of experience in preservation and research. Paul ensures the accuracy, quality, and accessibility of every collection.

📌 It's All In the Name

The GG Archives was originally founded as the Gjenvick-Gjønvik Family History Center in honor of Paul's family roots in the U.S. and Scandinavia. The name "Gjenvick" reflects the original Americanized spelling of "Gjønvik," adding a personal dimension to our mission of preserving everyone's stories.

📰 Press & Attribution Guidance

Journalists, educators, and researchers are welcome to cite, quote, and link to the GG Archives in their work. Please credit the collection as follows:

• Preferred Citation: “Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives (GG Archives), https://www.ggarchives.com/”
• Images: Each image includes a GGA Image ID for easy reference. High-resolution versions are available for licensing.
• Attribution Style: Chicago, APA, and MLA formatted examples are provided on most detail pages.

Contact: For press inquiries, high-resolution images, or academic questions, please visit our Contact Us page.

📂 Additional Information & Policies

Explore these helpful pages:

• Our Collection Policy
• Contact Us
• Contribute Images and Ephemera
• Family History Resources
• GG Archives in Academic Papers
• GG Archives in the News
• Help Wanted
• History of GG Archives
• Living Notes from the Archivist ✍️
• Mission Statement
• Our Archivist
• Awards and Recognition
• Primary Source Materials
• Secondary Source Materials
• Purchase High-Resolution Images
• Social Media
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Using GG Archives in the Classroom
• Using the Collections Effectively
• What Makes GG Archives Different
• Attribution and Licensing Notice for Modified Public Domain Images
• 📜 Media Kit & About Us

Curator’s Note

For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.

It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.

If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.

📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.