Yep, best way to find out is to ask family members, especially the older folks. I've been working with a cousin and we have gotten back as far as the early eighteen hundreds, with documentation. If you have a genealogy library where you live, its a great place to get information. Get with family and look at photos, see if they have names on the back, follow those names. It is not easy, takes time and can get frustrating...so hang in there.

One thing to remember is that a lot of people changed their names once they landed on Ellis Island or it was changed for them.
My great grandmother was Apache, my ggrandfather was disowned by the family for marrying her. We have relatives that the family knows nothing about...

Yep, I found over two hundred names for my Maternal ancestors...everybody was named John, Sarah, Mary, etc.
Good Luck,