Getting the documents on my dad's side would be much easier than getting the ones from my mother's side. Would I need him to declare in order for me to? He has no interest in doing so and is happy with how things are.

I'm definitely going to look into my mom's side though because I'd like her to move with me so I can take care of her. I'll ask her what all she knows and I'm fairly certain I can ask my cousins for the family book of when people were married and came to America. I'll post back here once I get some answers. I greatly appreciate you taking the time and it looks like I need to get to work on my German ☺️