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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)

Washington County	12,325	1,710	33	5	0	259	0	0	2	399	132	121
Kentucky (in 000's)	4,629	572	8	3	52	114	28	11	11	236	74	53
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
Nelson County	49,321	7,330	56	8	201	764	176	71	75	1,647	426	331
Boyle County	31,326	6,030	31	3	296	995	156	3	59	1,345	515	410
Anderson County	25,030	4,914	37	3	56	301	0	216	7	363	133	72
Mercer County	23,775	5,327	34	15	32	472	17	61	150	581	120	118
Marion County	20,027	3,257	0	37	17	450	173	0	23	821	221	217

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Washington County	19.88	13.87	0.27	0.04	0.00	2.10	0.00	0.00	0.02	3.24	1.07	0.98
Kentucky	14.19	12.35	0.17	0.07	1.12	2.47	0.60	0.24	0.24	5.10	1.61	1.14
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
Nelson County	17.38	14.86	0.11	0.02	0.41	1.55	0.36	0.14	0.15	3.34	0.86	0.67
Boyle County	13.91	19.25	0.10	0.01	0.94	3.18	0.50	0.01	0.19	4.29	1.64	1.31
Anderson County	17.09	19.63	0.15	0.01	0.22	1.20	0.00	0.86	0.03	1.45	0.53	0.29
Mercer County	17.49	22.41	0.14	0.06	0.13	1.99	0.07	0.26	0.63	2.44	0.50	0.50
Marion County	18.81	16.26	0.00	0.18	0.08	2.25	0.86	0.00	0.11	4.10	1.10	1.08

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

Washington County		112.37	160.54	54.86	0.00	84.99	0.00	0.00	6.72	63.43	66.67	86.23
Kentucky		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		32.77	386.61	246.77	295.44	458.09	300.45	554.21	444.78	147.80	142.40	183.57
Nelson County		120.36	68.08	21.93	36.49	62.65	59.54	58.97	62.97	65.43	53.77	58.94
Boyle County		155.90	59.34	12.95	84.60	128.46	83.08	3.92	77.99	84.12	102.34	114.95
Anderson County		159.00	88.63	16.21	20.03	48.64	0.00	353.50	11.58	28.41	33.08	25.26
Mercer County		181.46	85.75	85.32	12.05	80.29	11.93	105.10	261.26	47.88	31.42	43.59
Marion County		131.71	0.00	249.83	7.60	90.88	144.12	0.00	47.56	80.32	68.69	95.17

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

Washington County		342.86	41.52	22.23	0.00	18.55	0.00	0.00	1.51	42.92	46.82	46.97
Kentucky		305.13	25.87	40.52	33.85	21.83	33.28	18.04	22.48	67.66	70.23	54.47
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Nelson County		367.26	17.61	8.89	12.35	13.68	19.82	10.64	14.16	44.27	37.76	32.11
Boyle County		475.68	15.35	5.25	28.63	28.04	27.65	0.71	17.54	56.92	71.87	62.62
Anderson County		485.15	22.93	6.57	6.78	10.62	0.00	63.78	2.60	19.23	23.23	13.76
Mercer County		553.69	22.18	34.57	4.08	17.53	3.97	18.96	58.74	32.40	22.06	23.75
Marion County		401.89	0.00	101.24	2.57	19.84	47.97	0.00	10.69	54.34	48.24	51.84

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

Washington County	12,325	11	1,077	29	65	1,012	25	67	23	1,087	0	223
Kentucky (in 000's)	4,629	8	436	21	35	378	54	23	30	394	6	89
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
Nelson County	49,321	24	5,205	216	452	3,571	759	118	377	4,434	0	886
Boyle County	31,326	80	2,953	164	223	1,951	284	174	274	2,527	62	722
Anderson County	25,030	54	2,631	101	371	1,704	236	101	289	2,800	50	466
Mercer County	23,775	34	2,504	116	151	1,230	277	62	84	1,822	0	308
Marion County	20,027	15	1,967	71	66	825	190	64	23	1,844	7	250

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Washington County	19.88	0.09	8.74	0.24	0.53	8.21	0.20	0.54	0.19	8.82	0.00	1.81
Kentucky	14.19	0.17	9.42	0.45	0.77	8.17	1.17	0.50	0.64	8.52	0.13	1.92
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
Nelson County	17.38	0.05	10.55	0.44	0.92	7.24	1.54	0.24	0.76	8.99	0.00	1.80
Boyle County	13.91	0.26	9.43	0.52	0.71	6.23	0.91	0.56	0.87	8.07	0.20	2.30
Anderson County	17.09	0.22	10.51	0.40	1.48	6.81	0.94	0.40	1.15	11.19	0.20	1.86
Mercer County	17.49	0.14	10.53	0.49	0.64	5.17	1.17	0.26	0.35	7.66	0.00	1.30
Marion County	18.81	0.07	9.82	0.35	0.33	4.12	0.95	0.32	0.11	9.21	0.03	1.25

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

Washington County		52.25	92.77	52.01	68.86	100.50	17.39	108.00	29.06	103.57	0.00	94.09
Kentucky		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		230.30	55.88	117.71	138.54	88.10	225.50	270.12	270.78	70.56	248.49	144.88
Nelson County		28.49	112.04	96.80	119.67	88.62	131.95	47.53	119.03	105.58	0.00	93.42
Boyle County		149.52	100.08	115.72	92.95	76.23	77.73	110.36	136.21	94.73	148.05	119.85
Anderson County		126.31	111.59	89.19	193.54	83.33	80.84	80.17	179.80	131.37	149.43	96.82
Mercer County		83.73	111.81	107.84	82.93	63.32	99.90	51.81	55.02	90.00	0.00	67.37
Marion County		43.85	104.27	78.36	43.03	50.42	81.34	63.49	17.88	108.13	26.15	64.91

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

Washington County		22.69	166.00	44.18	49.71	114.07	7.71	39.98	10.73	146.78	0.00	64.94
Kentucky		43.42	178.94	84.95	72.18	113.50	44.35	37.02	36.93	141.71	40.24	69.02
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Nelson County		12.37	200.48	82.24	86.38	100.58	58.51	17.60	43.96	149.62	0.00	64.48
Boyle County		64.93	179.08	98.31	67.10	86.52	34.47	40.85	50.30	134.25	59.58	82.72
Anderson County		54.85	199.68	75.77	139.70	94.58	35.85	29.68	66.40	186.17	60.13	66.82
Mercer County		36.36	200.08	91.62	59.86	71.87	44.30	19.18	20.32	127.54	0.00	46.50
Marion County		19.04	186.58	66.57	31.06	57.23	36.07	23.50	6.60	153.24	10.52	44.80

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

Washington County	12,325	0	0	30	0	0	3	4	5	16	1,310	4,677
Kentucky (in 000's)	4,629	10	8	4	6	6	24	11	7	13	554	1,350
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
Nelson County	49,321	31	3	154	47	0	19	2	13	0	5,316	16,609
Boyle County	31,326	35	99	48	33	47	24	8	18	64	3,760	7,933
Anderson County	25,030	33	0	1	5	0	0	1	29	0	2,393	7,663
Mercer County	23,775	10	19	4	13	0	0	0	26	118	3,059	7,011
Marion County	20,027	63	19	38	0	0	0	0	5	51	2,167	7,146

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Washington County	19.88	0.00	0.00	0.24	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.03	0.04	0.13	10.63	37.95
Kentucky	14.19	0.22	0.16	0.09	0.12	0.12	0.51	0.23	0.15	0.29	11.96	29.17
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
Nelson County	17.38	0.06	0.01	0.31	0.10	0.00	0.04	0.00	0.03	0.00	10.78	33.68
Boyle County	13.91	0.11	0.32	0.15	0.11	0.15	0.08	0.03	0.06	0.20	12.00	25.32
Anderson County	17.09	0.13	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.12	0.00	9.56	30.62
Mercer County	17.49	0.04	0.08	0.02	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.50	12.87	29.49
Marion County	18.81	0.31	0.09	0.19	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.25	10.82	35.68

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

Washington County		0.00	0.00	271.04	0.00	0.00	4.78	14.27	27.61	45.10	88.87	130.07
Kentucky		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		578.61	532.89	257.20	372.30	458.43	312.08	210.48	243.77	195.42	115.27	50.93
Nelson County		27.98	3.70	347.68	79.01	0.00	7.57	1.78	17.94	0.00	90.12	115.43
Boyle County		49.74	192.03	170.62	87.34	123.42	15.05	11.23	39.11	70.98	100.36	86.80
Anderson County		58.70	0.00	4.45	16.56	0.00	0.00	1.76	78.86	0.00	79.94	104.94
Mercer County		18.73	48.56	18.73	45.33	0.00	0.00	0.00	74.43	172.44	107.58	101.08
Marion County		140.05	57.65	211.28	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	16.99	88.48	90.47	122.31

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

Washington County		0.00	0.00	105.38	0.00	0.00	1.53	6.78	11.33	23.08	77.10	255.40
Kentucky		17.28	18.77	38.88	26.86	21.81	32.04	47.51	41.02	51.17	86.75	196.35
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Nelson County		4.84	0.69	135.18	21.22	0.00	2.43	0.85	7.36	0.00	78.18	226.65
Boyle County		8.60	36.03	66.34	23.46	26.92	4.82	5.34	16.04	36.32	87.06	170.44
Anderson County		10.14	0.00	1.73	4.45	0.00	0.00	0.83	32.35	0.00	69.35	206.05
Mercer County		3.24	9.11	7.28	12.18	0.00	0.00	0.00	30.53	88.24	93.33	198.47
Marion County		24.20	10.82	82.15	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	6.97	45.28	78.49	240.15

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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