My mom was into it so traced lines as far back as she could (this was pre internet/she didn't travel to Europe).
My maternal grandmother came from Ukraine via Siberia. They were part of Catherine the Great's dowery*, that she resettled in Ukraine. During WWI, they were sent to Siberia (Russian's didn't want Germans in Ukraine). After the war, they were dumped in Germany - those in Germany didn't want what they saw as Russian, and wanted to be rid of them. A town in Saskatchewan needed a preacher, so they came to Canada. The original payment for their travel to Canada was stolen, so had to be paid again. As a result, my great grandfather worked indentured servitude for most of the rest of his life.
*Catherine's dowery consisted of a number of serfs, who wanted a German Lutheran preacher in St. Petersburg. My relatives were preachers back to Stettin, Prussia in early 1700s. Alas, while royal connections, no royalty.
My maternal grandfather's parents also came from Prussia. But they were serfs, so tracking back beyond 1890s wasn't possible at the time (I think location is actually in Poland now, and that was still off limits when my mom was working on this).
My paternal 3x great grandfather was recruited in Germany (possibly Denmarck - Andersen family name) by the south to fight in Civil war. (Is that almost evil person).
My paternal 3x great grandfather was Pennsylvania Deutsch** who fought for the north...
The musket he fought with hung over the mantel when my dad was young, but it was destroyed as not safe to use...
Both families moved through Minnesota, North Dakota and into Saskatchewan over the next generations.
**Yes, I know Dutch, not Deutsch, but my grandmother was so shocked to learn she was German not Dutch, we liked to bug her (as only grandkids could).
My paternal great grandfather owned a cobbler shop in Norway. Unfortunately, he was a drunk and lost the business (employed 13 people in Stavanger at one point) bolting for USA. He changed his last name at Ellis Island and took train to North Dakota. So, there your 1st thief...
Unfortunately, the Nazi's decided the location of the historic church/graveyards was perfect location for an airport. All the documentation any further back is now under the runway.
My grandfather came North into Saskatchewan.
I've visited relatives Norway.
We were interested in Vikings; those relatives were very clear - they exported the trouble makers to the New World.
My daughter and I running to the edge of Preikestolen and sitting on edge with feel hanging over probably reinforced that...
My younger brother has all the documents, so the above is what I remember.