Unlock Your Family History at ‘The Big Trip Up Yonder: Genealogy Workshop’

The Ivy Tech Indianapolis community is invited to a unique opportunity to delve into their personal histories through “The Big Trip Up Yonder: Genealogy Workshop.” 

Organized by Ivy Tech Indianapolis librarians Lois DeHoff and Hannah Cortes, the workshop is set for Tuesday, Nov. 12, and promises an engaging, hands-on experience for attendees to start building their family trees and uncover the hidden stories that shape their family legacy.

Both DeHoff and Cortes share a passion for history, and it’s this shared interest that inspired the event. 

“We both really love history. It was one of my motivating factors for becoming a librarian,” DeHoff says. “Hannah and I both like talking about our families and the things we’ve done. It was something we wanted to bring to our Ivy Tech community to help people answer questions about their backgrounds.” 

In addition to their love of history, the librarians were additionally inspired by a genealogy workshop they attended at the Indiana State Library, which they felt they could adapt to meet the needs of Ivy Tech Indy’s community. The resulting workshop is designed to offer attendees a tailored introduction to genealogy with a supportive community feel.

How the workshop will go

The workshop is split into two interactive sessions, giving participants an accessible, thorough foundation in genealogy research. 

In the first half, DeHoff and Cortes will introduce the basics of genealogical research, teaching attendees how to navigate crucial databases and understand what initial steps they should take to trace their family roots. 

As Cortes details, “The first half is more of a presentation … guiding them through the basics of what you need to know, what information you would want to collect, and how to use the databases.” 

The duo has selected user-friendly databases to focus on, including FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Find a Grave. 

“FamilySearch is one of the best free websites,” Cortes explains. “It allows you to build a tree and access important records, documents, and more. Ancestry offers access to additional databases through a paid membership, while Find a Grave is fantastic for locating obituaries and verifying dates.”

After the instructional portion, the second half of the workshop will allow participants to dive into their research with the support of DeHoff, Cortes, and other librarians. They’re excited to create an environment where attendees can immediately apply what they’ve learned. 

“Sometimes it’s really beneficial just to get some information and then apply it right away,” DeHoff explains. Cortes echoes the sentiment, emphasizing that they’ll be available to answer questions, guide attendees through any challenges, and help problem-solve if attendees hit research roadblocks. 

“If someone’s running into a dead end, we can help them troubleshoot—maybe it’s a misspelling, or they’re missing a piece of information,” Cortes says. 

The librarians also hope that the environment will foster collaboration among attendees, who may have insights or research strategies to share with one another.

The importance of knowing your family history

Beyond the technical skills of genealogy, DeHoff and Cortes emphasize the deeper significance of tracing one’s roots. For many, genealogy can provide answers to questions about family heritage, culture, and health history, making it both a personal and communal journey. 

“I think there are a lot of questions we have in the present that could be answered by looking into our family history,” says DeHoff. “There’s a sense of connection—not just with our own backgrounds, but with our communities and the lives of those who came before us.” 

Cortes adds that family histories are often made up of “little stories” that together create a broader picture of who we are. 

“Your family history is made up of these moments, and a lot of people are curious about those, especially if they don’t have a strong connection to their past,” she explains.

The timing of the workshop is intentional, with its November 12 date serving as an ideal lead-up to the holiday season, when family gatherings can become an opportunity to share newfound knowledge. 

As Cortes notes, “How fun would it be to show up to Thanksgiving or Christmas and tell your family something incredible you discovered—a family member you didn’t know existed or a story you hadn’t heard before?” 

There are, however, some challenges attendees might encounter, especially when records are incomplete or names have changed due to immigration or marriage. 

"Names change over time, especially with immigration. All families should have some record of immigration somewhere in their family because of how everyone came to America,” Cortes explained. 

She added, “You’re only seeing what’s available online, which is just what’s been digitized.” Noting that some information is only available in print archives or local institutions. 

DeHoff elaborates that factors like race, gender, and location can also limit records for some family lines, creating additional barriers. 

“We’re so conditioned to find everything online, but a lot of resources are still local. Small town libraries can be essential for family records that aren’t available anywhere else,” DeHoff says, adding that overcoming these challenges requires persistence and creative search strategies. She encourages participants who have physical documents that may help with their search to bring those along with them to the workshop. 

Continuously contributing to lifelong learning and community engagement

The workshop title, “The Big Trip Up Yonder,” is a nod to author and Indianapolis-native Kurt Vonnegut's short story, celebrating the broader concept of honoring family history and life stories. 

“The workshop is about celebrating lives that came before us and understanding the legacies they left behind,” DeHoff explains.

Cortes expands, sharing that lifelong learning is what they both are all about as librarians. 

“We’re in the work of empowering students, and we’re obviously going to continue that … working with different generations as they come in to continue that cycle of learning and encouragement,” Cortes shared. “The library itself fosters that energy; you see regulars in here, and you get familiar with them. They get familiar with each other and compare what they're learning, and they get excited about it. And we want to make workshops that are targeted at the people in our library and the things that they're interested in.”

The Ivy Tech Indianapolis librarians are committed to making this workshop accessible and impactful for all Ivy Tech participants. In addition to hands-on guidance, each attendee will receive an information packet to assist with their independent research and access to a “LibGuide,” an online resource packed with links to the databases and resources covered in the workshop. 

This LibGuide will serve as a digital toolkit, allowing participants to continue their research after the event. 

Cortes emphasizes, “The LibGuide will include steps from our presentation and additional sites and databases … it’s designed to support everyone’s research journey, no matter their skill level.”

The “Big Trip Up Yonder: Genealogy Workshop” is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lawrence site’s Fairbanks building in room LRC 108. Open to all students, faculty, and staff, the event is free, but seating is limited to 30 participants. All are encouraged to bring notepads or devices to record their findings.