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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)

Pickens County	140,158	13,785	277	44	1,601	3,150	1,047	642	657	5,889	1,461	1,408
South Carolina (in 000's)	5,565	370	17	3	81	189	56	45	20	930	220	208
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
Greenville County	580,127	34,367	974	441	11,073	25,703	9,606	14,143	3,235	68,350	15,094	14,302
Anderson County	220,188	24,246	483	62	1,935	4,813	1,976	1,119	527	20,616	5,204	4,990
Oconee County	84,044	8,484	154	14	725	2,800	600	409	98	3,609	1,115	921
Transylvania County	34,458	5,376	76	19	338	1,016	302	24	38	735	212	237

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Pickens County	14.09	9.84	0.20	0.03	1.14	2.25	0.75	0.46	0.47	4.20	1.04	1.00
South Carolina	10.85	6.66	0.31	0.06	1.45	3.39	1.01	0.80	0.36	16.71	3.95	3.74
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
Greenville County	9.75	5.92	0.17	0.08	1.91	4.43	1.66	2.44	0.56	11.78	2.60	2.47
Anderson County	12.03	11.01	0.22	0.03	0.88	2.19	0.90	0.51	0.24	9.36	2.36	2.27
Oconee County	12.87	10.09	0.18	0.02	0.86	3.33	0.71	0.49	0.12	4.29	1.33	1.10
Transylvania County	12.78	15.60	0.22	0.06	0.98	2.95	0.88	0.07	0.11	2.13	0.62	0.69

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

Pickens County		147.77	64.24	54.56	78.86	66.22	73.87	57.05	129.25	25.15	26.38	26.88
South Carolina		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		60.80	209.59	317.13	227.82	333.71	178.07	168.51	296.16	45.15	57.90	55.92
Greenville County		89.00	54.57	132.11	131.77	130.53	163.74	303.64	153.76	70.51	65.85	65.96
Anderson County		165.44	71.30	48.93	60.67	64.40	88.74	63.30	65.99	56.04	59.82	60.63
Oconee County		151.66	59.56	28.95	59.55	98.16	70.59	60.61	32.15	25.70	33.58	29.32
Transylvania County		234.40	71.69	95.82	67.72	86.87	86.66	8.67	30.41	12.77	15.57	18.40

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

Pickens County		243.05	30.65	17.20	34.62	19.84	41.48	33.86	43.64	55.70	45.57	48.06
South Carolina		164.48	47.71	31.53	43.89	29.97	56.16	59.34	33.77	221.50	172.72	178.83
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Greenville County		146.39	26.04	41.66	57.84	39.12	91.95	180.19	51.92	156.18	113.74	117.95
Anderson County		272.11	34.02	15.43	26.63	19.30	49.83	37.56	22.28	124.12	103.32	108.43
Oconee County		249.46	28.42	9.13	26.14	29.41	39.64	35.97	10.86	56.93	58.00	52.43
Transylvania County		385.54	34.21	30.22	29.72	26.03	48.67	5.15	10.27	28.28	26.90	32.91

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

Pickens County	140,158	226	14,714	610	1,225	7,954	2,134	1,075	1,091	14,998	90	2,769
South Carolina (in 000's)	5,565	15	364	18	43	270	93	41	42	381	11	122
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
Greenville County	580,127	1,957	45,482	2,519	4,755	31,268	9,963	4,340	6,807	46,937	879	13,082
Anderson County	220,188	579	19,337	967	1,912	10,690	2,765	2,077	2,049	21,040	693	4,451
Oconee County	84,044	213	8,679	558	879	6,112	1,303	821	874	10,115	9	2,138
Transylvania County	34,458	131	3,818	204	593	2,856	557	324	615	4,985	121	604

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Pickens County	14.09	0.16	10.50	0.44	0.87	5.68	1.52	0.77	0.78	10.70	0.06	1.98
South Carolina	10.85	0.27	6.55	0.32	0.77	4.85	1.67	0.73	0.76	6.84	0.20	2.19
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
Greenville County	9.75	0.34	7.84	0.43	0.82	5.39	1.72	0.75	1.17	8.09	0.15	2.26
Anderson County	12.03	0.26	8.78	0.44	0.87	4.85	1.26	0.94	0.93	9.56	0.31	2.02
Oconee County	12.87	0.25	10.33	0.66	1.05	7.27	1.55	0.98	1.04	12.04	0.01	2.54
Transylvania County	12.78	0.38	11.08	0.59	1.72	8.29	1.62	0.94	1.78	14.47	0.35	1.75

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

Pickens County		59.28	160.27	135.59	113.42	116.93	91.03	105.05	102.87	156.46	32.30	90.38
South Carolina		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		144.61	80.36	165.91	137.68	148.31	157.24	186.22	229.81	87.85	167.12	127.46
Greenville County		124.02	119.69	135.28	106.37	111.05	102.68	102.47	155.07	118.30	76.23	103.16
Anderson County		96.67	134.07	136.82	112.69	100.03	75.08	129.20	122.98	139.71	158.33	92.48
Oconee County		93.17	157.65	206.85	135.73	149.84	92.69	133.80	137.44	175.97	5.39	116.38
Transylvania County		139.76	169.15	184.44	223.33	170.78	96.64	128.79	235.88	211.52	176.66	80.19

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

Pickens County		40.99	199.43	81.72	82.38	78.84	57.89	56.41	44.77	178.09	19.33	70.91
South Carolina		69.15	124.44	60.27	72.63	67.42	63.60	53.70	43.51	113.83	59.84	78.46
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Greenville County		85.76	148.94	81.53	77.25	74.88	65.30	55.02	67.48	134.65	45.61	80.94
Anderson County		66.85	166.83	82.47	81.84	67.45	47.75	69.38	53.52	159.03	94.74	72.55
Oconee County		64.43	196.18	124.67	98.58	101.03	58.95	71.85	59.81	200.30	3.22	91.31
Transylvania County		96.65	210.49	111.17	162.20	115.14	61.46	69.16	102.64	240.77	105.71	62.91

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

Pickens County	140,158	812	281	120	152	115	1,058	127	41	438	20,289	39,878
South Carolina (in 000's)	5,565	15	15	3	6	10	32	9	7	14	946	970
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
Greenville County	580,127	2,232	1,658	578	883	1,718	5,566	810	550	2,126	96,829	101,900
Anderson County	220,188	396	335	93	232	104	1,031	107	181	580	32,689	51,909
Oconee County	84,044	86	75	23	12	28	274	70	71	65	11,143	21,567
Transylvania County	34,458	74	28	10	12	6	18	16	21	13	3,261	7,818

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Pickens County	14.09	0.58	0.20	0.09	0.11	0.08	0.75	0.09	0.03	0.31	14.48	28.45
South Carolina	10.85	0.26	0.27	0.05	0.11	0.17	0.57	0.17	0.13	0.25	17.00	17.42
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
Greenville County	9.75	0.38	0.29	0.10	0.15	0.30	0.96	0.14	0.09	0.37	16.69	17.57
Anderson County	12.03	0.18	0.15	0.04	0.11	0.05	0.47	0.05	0.08	0.26	14.85	23.57
Oconee County	12.87	0.10	0.09	0.03	0.01	0.03	0.33	0.08	0.08	0.08	13.26	25.66
Transylvania County	12.78	0.21	0.08	0.03	0.03	0.02	0.05	0.05	0.06	0.04	9.46	22.69

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

Pickens County		222.05	73.57	161.17	95.62	47.95	132.97	54.44	22.17	125.32	85.15	163.29
South Carolina		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		498.13	321.83	434.82	395.93	325.67	279.79	287.55	271.42	225.56	81.10	85.27
Greenville County		147.47	104.88	187.55	134.20	173.06	169.01	83.88	71.84	146.96	98.18	100.81
Anderson County		68.93	55.83	79.51	92.90	27.60	82.48	29.20	62.29	105.63	87.33	135.30
Oconee County		39.22	32.75	51.52	12.59	19.47	57.43	50.04	64.02	31.01	77.99	147.28
Transylvania County		82.31	29.82	54.63	30.71	10.18	9.20	27.90	46.18	15.13	55.67	130.21

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

Pickens County		44.58	22.86	37.07	24.15	14.72	47.53	18.93	8.17	55.56	105.00	191.49
South Carolina		20.08	31.07	23.00	25.26	30.71	35.74	34.78	36.84	44.33	123.31	117.27
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Greenville County		29.60	32.59	43.13	33.90	53.14	60.41	29.17	26.47	65.15	121.07	118.22
Anderson County		13.84	17.35	18.29	23.46	8.48	29.48	10.15	22.95	46.83	107.69	158.67
Oconee County		7.87	10.18	11.85	3.18	5.98	20.53	17.40	23.59	13.75	96.17	172.71
Transylvania County		16.52	9.27	12.56	7.76	3.12	3.29	9.70	17.02	6.71	68.64	152.70

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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