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Ancestry refers to the lineage or descent of a person, family, or group, tracing back through generations to identify their origins, heritage, and familial connections. It encompasses the genetic, cultural, and historical ties that link individuals to their forebears, shaping their identity and sense of belonging. Ancestry is a multifaceted concept, intertwining biology, genealogy, history, and culture, and it plays a significant role in how people understand themselves and their place in the world.

At its core, ancestry is rooted in genetics. Each individual inherits a unique combination of DNA from their parents, who in turn inherited their DNA from their own ancestors. This genetic material carries information about physical traits, predispositions to certain health conditions, and even behavioral tendencies. Advances in genetic testing, such as DNA analysis, have made it possible for individuals to trace their biological ancestry with remarkable precision. Companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA offer services that analyze genetic markers to provide insights into a person's ethnic composition and geographic origins, often revealing surprising connections to distant relatives or previously unknown heritage.

Beyond genetics, ancestry is deeply tied to genealogy, the study of family history and lineage. Genealogical research involves constructing family trees, documenting relationships, and uncovering historical records such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, census data, and immigration documents. This process often reveals stories of migration, resilience, and adaptation, offering a window into the lives of ancestors and the challenges they faced. For many, genealogy is a way to honor their forebears and preserve their legacy for future generations.

Cultural ancestry is another critical dimension, encompassing the traditions, languages, customs, and values passed down through generations. It connects individuals to their ethnic or national heritage, shaping their cultural identity and worldview. For example, someone with Irish ancestry might celebrate St. Patrick's Day, learn traditional Irish dance, or explore the Gaelic language, while someone with Japanese ancestry might practice tea ceremonies, study calligraphy, or observe Obon festivals. Cultural ancestry fosters a sense of continuity and belonging, linking individuals to a broader community with shared experiences and values.

Historical ancestry delves into the broader context of a family's or group's past, including significant events, social conditions, and historical movements that shaped their lives. For instance, the transatlantic slave trade, the Irish Potato Famine, or the Jewish diaspora have profoundly influenced the ancestry of millions of people, leaving lasting imprints on their descendants' identities. Understanding historical ancestry often involves grappling with complex narratives of triumph and tragedy, resilience and oppression, and the interplay of individual and collective experiences.

Ancestry also has a deeply personal and emotional dimension. For many, exploring their ancestry is a journey of self-discovery, offering insights into who they are and where they come from. It can foster a sense of pride, connection, and continuity, as well as a deeper appreciation for the struggles and achievements of those who came before. At the same time, it can raise questions about identity, belonging, and the complexities of heritage, particularly for individuals with mixed or multicultural backgrounds.

In a globalized world, ancestry serves as a bridge between the past and the present, connecting individuals to their roots while also highlighting the interconnectedness of human history. It underscores the diversity and richness of human experience, reminding us that every person's story is part of a larger tapestry woven over centuries. Whether through genetic testing, genealogical research, cultural practices, or historical exploration, ancestry offers a profound way to understand ourselves and our place in the world.

A diversification score measures the diversity of ancestries in the county. As the value appoaches 100, ancestry diversity decreases and therefore increasing the risk of a lack of cultural diversity. The ancestry diversification score for this county is:

Most common ancestry not including "Unknown" is:

Ancestry Report Part I
Description	Total Population	American	Native American	Hawaiian	Caribbean (Latino)	Mexican	Central American	South American	Other Hispanic	African American	Sub- Saharan	Caribbean (Black)

Columbia County	169,088	11,903	366	280	4,537	6,084	1,400	754	265	24,004	3,759	2,834
Georgia (in 000's)	11,288	641	21	6	209	627	187	116	51	2,374	539	501
National (in 000's)	343,251	13,890	2,213	626	11,327	38,879	6,181	4,644	3,687	25,893	7,852	7,174
Richmond County	206,731	5,801	561	480	4,566	4,647	1,192	453	755	77,410	17,765	17,154
Edgefield County	30,148	2,892	76	7	208	953	40	178	282	5,494	2,063	1,741
McDuffie County	21,953	1,704	36	11	261	339	80	59	37	6,180	1,425	1,400
Lincoln County	8,142	767	16	5	12	46	40	0	6	1,369	432	425
McCormick County	10,335	394	34	3	71	24	0	4	5	2,509	872	781

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Columbia County	11.31	7.04	0.22	0.17	2.68	3.60	0.83	0.45	0.16	14.20	2.22	1.68
Georgia	10.99	5.68	0.18	0.06	1.85	5.56	1.65	1.03	0.46	21.03	4.77	4.44
National	7.83	4.05	0.64	0.18	3.30	11.33	1.80	1.35	1.07	7.54	2.29	2.09
Richmond County	19.75	2.81	0.27	0.23	2.21	2.25	0.58	0.22	0.37	37.44	8.59	8.30
Edgefield County	12.42	9.59	0.25	0.02	0.69	3.16	0.13	0.59	0.94	18.22	6.84	5.77
McDuffie County	16.06	7.76	0.16	0.05	1.19	1.54	0.36	0.27	0.17	28.15	6.49	6.38
Lincoln County	15.06	9.42	0.20	0.06	0.15	0.56	0.49	0.00	0.07	16.81	5.31	5.22
McCormick County	14.63	3.81	0.33	0.03	0.69	0.23	0.00	0.04	0.05	24.28	8.44	7.56

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Columbia County		123.91	117.19	293.26	145.00	64.77	50.11	43.38	34.37	67.50	46.57	37.75
Georgia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		71.23	349.10	323.17	178.32	203.89	108.98	131.61	235.55	35.87	47.92	47.08
Richmond County		49.39	146.92	411.19	119.35	40.46	34.89	21.32	80.09	178.05	180.00	186.91
Edgefield County		168.85	136.48	41.12	37.28	56.90	8.03	57.43	205.14	86.65	143.34	130.08
McDuffie County		136.63	88.78	88.74	64.25	27.80	22.05	26.14	36.96	133.86	135.97	143.65
Lincoln County		165.81	106.39	108.75	7.96	10.17	29.73	0.00	16.16	79.95	111.14	117.58
McCormick County		67.10	178.11	51.41	37.12	4.18	0.00	3.76	10.61	115.44	176.73	170.22

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Columbia County		173.96	33.57	90.74	81.31	31.77	45.98	32.96	14.59	188.19	97.18	80.19
Georgia		140.39	28.65	30.94	56.08	49.05	91.76	75.98	42.45	278.78	208.70	212.40
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Richmond County		69.34	42.09	127.24	66.93	19.85	32.02	16.20	34.00	496.38	375.66	397.00
Edgefield County		237.05	39.10	12.72	20.91	27.91	7.37	43.64	87.09	241.58	299.14	276.30
McDuffie County		191.81	25.43	27.46	36.03	13.63	20.24	19.86	15.69	373.18	283.76	305.12
Lincoln County		232.79	30.48	33.65	4.47	4.99	27.28	0.00	6.86	222.89	231.95	249.74
McCormick County		94.21	51.02	15.91	20.82	2.05	0.00	2.86	4.50	321.82	368.84	361.56

Ancestry Report Part II
Description	Total Population	Canadian	British	Dutch	French	German	Italian	Polish	Scandinavian	Scotish/ Irish	Spanish	Other European

Columbia County	169,088	306	11,453	438	1,134	8,037	2,640	1,094	1,043	9,553	270	4,099
Georgia (in 000's)	11,288	18	618	27	58	339	116	50	62	531	18	179
National (in 000's)	343,251	1,350	18,069	1,828	3,642	24,708	9,027	4,667	5,969	20,625	1,140	9,563
Richmond County	206,731	141	5,127	125	550	3,509	826	371	457	4,811	352	1,039
Edgefield County	30,148	48	1,476	22	176	1,120	286	78	332	1,134	34	303
McDuffie County	21,953	35	653	26	97	565	60	29	101	829	23	116
Lincoln County	8,142	5	511	10	41	252	57	23	34	375	0	67
McCormick County	10,335	36	462	31	99	414	79	39	117	504	21	166

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Columbia County	11.31	0.18	6.77	0.26	0.67	4.75	1.56	0.65	0.62	5.65	0.16	2.42
Georgia	10.99	0.16	5.47	0.24	0.52	3.01	1.02	0.44	0.55	4.70	0.16	1.59
National	7.83	0.39	5.26	0.53	1.06	7.20	2.63	1.36	1.74	6.01	0.33	2.79
Richmond County	19.75	0.07	2.48	0.06	0.27	1.70	0.40	0.18	0.22	2.33	0.17	0.50
Edgefield County	12.42	0.16	4.90	0.07	0.58	3.72	0.95	0.26	1.10	3.76	0.11	1.01
McDuffie County	16.06	0.16	2.97	0.12	0.44	2.57	0.27	0.13	0.46	3.78	0.10	0.53
Lincoln County	15.06	0.06	6.28	0.12	0.50	3.10	0.70	0.28	0.42	4.61	0.00	0.82
McCormick County	14.63	0.35	4.47	0.30	0.96	4.01	0.76	0.38	1.13	4.88	0.20	1.61

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Columbia County		116.42	123.75	109.41	129.88	158.08	152.44	147.47	112.42	120.20	101.82	152.66
Georgia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		253.05	96.17	224.93	205.47	239.40	256.78	309.89	316.91	127.83	211.82	175.45
Richmond County		43.88	45.31	25.54	51.52	56.45	39.01	40.90	40.29	49.51	108.57	31.65
Edgefield County		102.43	89.45	30.82	113.06	123.55	92.62	58.97	200.71	80.02	71.91	63.29
McDuffie County		102.57	54.34	50.02	85.57	85.60	26.69	30.11	83.85	80.34	66.81	33.27
Lincoln County		39.51	114.66	51.87	97.52	102.94	68.35	64.39	76.11	97.99	0.00	51.82
McCormick County		224.09	81.67	126.69	185.51	133.23	74.63	86.01	206.33	103.75	129.57	101.15

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Columbia County		46.01	128.67	48.64	63.21	66.03	59.37	47.59	35.47	94.03	48.07	87.01
Georgia		39.52	103.98	44.46	48.67	41.77	38.94	32.27	31.55	78.23	47.21	57.00
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Richmond County		17.34	47.11	11.35	25.08	23.58	15.19	13.20	12.71	38.73	51.26	18.04
Edgefield County		40.48	93.01	13.70	55.02	51.61	36.07	19.03	63.33	62.60	33.95	36.07
McDuffie County		40.53	56.51	22.24	41.65	35.75	10.39	9.72	26.46	62.85	31.54	18.97
Lincoln County		15.61	119.23	23.06	47.46	43.00	26.62	20.78	24.02	76.65	0.00	29.54
McCormick County		88.56	84.92	56.32	90.29	55.65	29.06	27.76	65.10	81.16	61.17	57.65

Ancestry Report Part III
Description	Total Population	Chinese	Filipino	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	South Central Asian	South East Asian	Other Asian	Middle Eastern	Other Ancestry	Unknown

Columbia County	169,088	780	967	212	1,197	980	2,515	254	523	553	34,085	30,769
Georgia (in 000's)	11,288	71	30	11	66	65	197	33	25	30	1,753	1,721
National (in 000's)	343,251	4,461	3,010	793	1,541	1,913	5,452	1,643	1,229	1,931	47,322	51,000
Richmond County	206,731	753	1,046	87	689	218	593	263	255	338	37,534	16,863
Edgefield County	30,148	12	0	10	2	30	1	6	58	51	5,470	5,565
McDuffie County	21,953	0	0	2	1	0	15	39	26	0	4,215	3,589
Lincoln County	8,142	0	0	0	0	13	0	0	3	0	1,621	2,012
McCormick County	10,335	0	16	0	0	0	10	0	4	1	1,329	2,310

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Columbia County	11.31	0.46	0.57	0.13	0.71	0.58	1.49	0.15	0.31	0.33	20.16	18.20
Georgia	10.99	0.63	0.26	0.10	0.59	0.57	1.74	0.29	0.22	0.27	15.53	15.25
National	7.83	1.30	0.88	0.23	0.45	0.56	1.59	0.48	0.36	0.56	13.79	14.86
Richmond County	19.75	0.36	0.51	0.04	0.33	0.11	0.29	0.13	0.12	0.16	18.16	8.16
Edgefield County	12.42	0.04	0.00	0.03	0.01	0.10	0.00	0.02	0.19	0.17	18.14	18.46
McDuffie County	16.06	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.07	0.18	0.12	0.00	19.20	16.35
Lincoln County	15.06	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.00	0.00	0.04	0.00	19.91	24.71
McCormick County	14.63	0.00	0.15	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10	0.00	0.04	0.01	12.86	22.35

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Columbia County		72.95	218.12	130.40	120.25	101.26	85.32	51.25	140.25	123.34	129.84	119.35
Georgia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		205.52	334.50	240.24	76.28	97.36	91.11	163.28	162.41	212.12	88.80	97.45
Richmond County		57.60	192.98	43.77	56.61	18.42	16.45	43.40	55.93	61.66	116.94	53.50
Edgefield County		6.29	0.00	34.50	1.13	17.39	0.19	6.79	87.23	63.80	116.86	121.07
McDuffie County		0.00	0.00	9.48	0.77	0.00	3.92	60.61	53.70	0.00	123.67	107.23
Lincoln County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	27.90	0.00	0.00	16.71	0.00	128.23	162.08
McCormick County		0.00	59.05	0.00	0.00	0.00	5.55	0.00	17.55	3.65	82.82	146.60

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Columbia County		35.49	65.21	54.28	157.65	104.00	93.65	31.39	86.36	58.15	146.22	122.47
Georgia		48.66	29.90	41.62	131.10	102.71	109.76	61.24	61.57	47.14	112.62	102.61
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Richmond County		28.03	57.69	18.22	74.22	18.92	18.06	26.58	34.44	29.07	131.69	54.90
Edgefield County		3.06	0.00	14.36	1.48	17.86	0.21	4.16	53.71	30.08	131.61	124.24
McDuffie County		0.00	0.00	3.94	1.01	0.00	4.30	37.12	33.07	0.00	139.27	110.03
Lincoln County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	28.65	0.00	0.00	10.29	0.00	144.41	166.32
McCormick County		0.00	17.65	0.00	0.00	0.00	6.09	0.00	10.81	1.72	93.27	150.43

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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