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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)

Franklin County	30,643	2,219	63	19	115	192	45	81	10	105	60	14
Maine (in 000's)	1,408	86	7	0	10	10	3	4	2	9	13	3
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
Kennebec County	127,971	7,463	399	26	913	816	189	299	429	478	296	135
Androscoggin County	115,158	6,094	366	50	919	892	255	215	69	2,096	3,166	473
Oxford County	60,082	4,296	183	13	335	408	6	78	87	126	41	37
Somerset County	51,454	4,139	179	15	243	254	67	9	118	150	57	55

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Franklin County	13.29	7.24	0.21	0.06	0.38	0.63	0.15	0.26	0.03	0.34	0.20	0.05
Maine	11.51	6.09	0.51	0.03	0.68	0.70	0.21	0.25	0.18	0.63	0.89	0.23
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
Kennebec County	11.58	5.83	0.31	0.02	0.71	0.64	0.15	0.23	0.34	0.37	0.23	0.11
Androscoggin County	10.68	5.29	0.32	0.04	0.80	0.77	0.22	0.19	0.06	1.82	2.75	0.41
Oxford County	13.00	7.15	0.30	0.02	0.56	0.68	0.01	0.13	0.14	0.21	0.07	0.06
Somerset County	13.78	8.04	0.35	0.03	0.47	0.49	0.13	0.02	0.23	0.29	0.11	0.11

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

Franklin County		118.93	40.54	208.37	55.34	89.87	71.01	104.79	18.57	54.57	21.95	19.81
Maine		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		66.46	127.14	613.26	486.61	1,624.63	870.78	536.34	611.07	1,201.46	256.50	906.39
Kennebec County		95.77	61.48	68.28	105.20	91.46	71.42	92.62	190.72	59.49	25.94	45.75
Androscoggin County		86.91	62.67	145.91	117.68	111.10	107.07	74.01	34.09	289.89	308.27	178.12
Oxford County		117.43	60.06	72.71	82.22	97.40	4.83	51.46	82.38	33.40	7.65	26.71
Somerset County		132.11	68.60	97.97	69.64	70.81	62.96	6.93	130.47	46.43	12.42	46.35

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

Franklin County		178.95	31.89	33.98	11.37	5.53	8.15	19.54	3.04	4.54	8.56	2.19
Maine		150.47	78.65	16.31	20.55	6.16	11.48	18.64	16.36	8.32	38.99	11.03
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Kennebec County		144.11	48.36	11.13	21.62	5.63	8.20	17.27	31.21	4.95	10.11	5.05
Androscoggin County		130.77	49.29	23.79	24.18	6.84	12.30	13.80	5.58	24.13	120.18	19.65
Oxford County		176.69	47.24	11.86	16.90	6.00	0.55	9.60	13.48	2.78	2.98	2.95
Somerset County		198.78	53.95	15.98	14.31	4.36	7.23	1.29	21.35	3.86	4.84	5.11

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

Franklin County	30,643	1,462	5,577	144	2,399	1,235	1,025	334	654	3,519	25	804
Maine (in 000's)	1,408	79	212	6	114	64	46	18	32	191	3	40
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
Kennebec County	127,971	8,354	19,383	606	14,743	4,993	3,240	1,766	3,107	15,661	327	3,299
Androscoggin County	115,158	13,492	13,461	359	13,540	4,422	2,760	878	1,355	11,908	88	2,118
Oxford County	60,082	3,004	9,693	176	6,022	2,331	1,526	640	1,617	7,779	147	1,549
Somerset County	51,454	2,948	7,667	209	4,411	1,897	1,063	719	920	6,783	40	842

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Franklin County	13.29	4.77	18.20	0.47	7.83	4.03	3.34	1.09	2.13	11.48	0.08	2.62
Maine	11.51	5.63	15.06	0.45	8.12	4.51	3.26	1.27	2.30	13.59	0.20	2.86
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
Kennebec County	11.58	6.53	15.15	0.47	11.52	3.90	2.53	1.38	2.43	12.24	0.26	2.58
Androscoggin County	10.68	11.72	11.69	0.31	11.76	3.84	2.40	0.76	1.18	10.34	0.08	1.84
Oxford County	13.00	5.00	16.13	0.29	10.02	3.88	2.54	1.07	2.69	12.95	0.24	2.58
Somerset County	13.78	5.73	14.90	0.41	8.57	3.69	2.07	1.40	1.79	13.18	0.08	1.64

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

Franklin County		84.70	120.82	104.40	96.38	89.33	102.63	85.56	92.72	84.52	40.44	91.77
Maine		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		6.98	34.95	118.32	13.06	159.54	80.69	106.73	75.54	44.22	164.64	97.45
Kennebec County		115.89	100.55	105.21	141.84	86.47	77.68	108.33	105.48	90.06	126.65	90.16
Androscoggin County		207.99	77.60	69.26	144.76	85.11	73.53	59.85	51.12	76.10	37.87	64.33
Oxford County		88.76	107.10	65.08	123.40	85.99	77.93	83.62	116.92	95.29	121.26	90.17
Somerset County		101.71	98.92	90.24	105.54	81.71	63.38	109.69	77.68	97.02	38.53	57.23

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

Franklin County		1,212.95	345.74	88.24	737.90	55.99	127.19	80.17	122.74	191.12	24.56	94.17
Maine		1,432.11	286.15	84.52	765.58	62.68	123.93	93.70	132.37	226.14	60.74	102.62
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Kennebec County		1,659.63	287.73	88.92	1,085.85	54.20	96.27	101.50	139.63	203.67	76.92	92.53
Androscoggin County		2,978.59	222.06	58.54	1,108.21	53.35	91.13	56.08	67.67	172.09	23.00	66.01
Oxford County		1,271.11	306.47	55.01	944.70	53.90	96.57	78.35	154.78	215.48	73.65	92.53
Somerset County		1,456.59	283.07	76.27	808.01	51.22	78.55	102.78	102.83	219.39	23.40	58.73

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

Franklin County	30,643	99	92	7	10	42	9	30	4	8	2,656	7,585
Maine (in 000's)	1,408	4	3	1	1	1	2	2	2	5	128	306
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
Kennebec County	127,971	298	114	14	140	160	161	71	124	678	12,647	26,642
Androscoggin County	115,158	336	312	37	67	72	103	64	94	309	13,206	21,582
Oxford County	60,082	85	30	7	23	8	18	49	90	62	5,060	14,556
Somerset County	51,454	71	35	3	0	4	2	25	84	162	4,642	13,641

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Franklin County	13.29	0.32	0.30	0.02	0.03	0.14	0.03	0.10	0.01	0.03	8.67	24.75
Maine	11.51	0.27	0.21	0.05	0.09	0.10	0.12	0.16	0.15	0.36	9.07	21.76
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
Kennebec County	11.58	0.23	0.09	0.01	0.11	0.13	0.13	0.06	0.10	0.53	9.88	20.82
Androscoggin County	10.68	0.29	0.27	0.03	0.06	0.06	0.09	0.06	0.08	0.27	11.47	18.74
Oxford County	13.00	0.14	0.05	0.01	0.04	0.01	0.03	0.08	0.15	0.10	8.42	24.23
Somerset County	13.78	0.14	0.07	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.05	0.16	0.31	9.02	26.51

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

Franklin County		118.62	143.40	44.43	36.13	139.05	24.13	60.28	8.50	7.27	95.59	113.74
Maine		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		477.19	418.90	449.24	497.09	565.35	1,304.84	294.69	233.27	156.52	152.04	68.27
Kennebec County		85.50	42.55	21.28	121.11	126.84	103.36	34.16	63.11	147.43	108.99	95.67
Androscoggin County		107.13	129.41	62.49	64.41	63.43	73.48	34.22	53.16	74.67	126.47	86.12
Oxford County		51.94	23.85	22.66	42.38	13.51	24.61	50.21	97.56	28.72	92.88	111.33
Somerset County		50.66	32.49	11.34	0.00	7.89	3.19	29.91	106.33	87.61	99.49	121.82

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

Franklin County		24.86	34.23	9.89	7.27	24.59	1.85	20.45	3.64	4.64	62.87	166.60
Maine		20.96	23.87	22.26	20.12	17.69	7.66	33.93	42.87	63.89	65.77	146.47
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Kennebec County		17.92	10.16	4.74	24.36	22.44	7.92	11.59	27.05	94.19	71.68	140.12
Androscoggin County		22.45	30.89	13.91	12.96	11.22	5.63	11.61	22.79	47.71	83.18	126.14
Oxford County		10.89	5.69	5.04	8.52	2.39	1.89	17.04	41.82	18.35	61.09	163.06
Somerset County		10.62	7.76	2.52	0.00	1.39	0.24	10.15	45.58	55.98	65.44	178.43

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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