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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)

Cass County	28,480	7,075	117	9	22	1,183	42	50	63	2,977	863	849
Texas (in 000's)	31,782	914	89	29	430	10,041	761	331	754	2,587	710	454
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
Caddo Parish	226,687	9,559	815	112	1,061	5,168	1,042	252	578	75,302	17,787	16,668
Bowie County	91,837	16,399	479	66	288	5,987	316	60	797	14,510	4,978	3,157
Miller County	41,657	3,195	203	5	153	1,213	106	17	102	7,551	1,565	1,515
Morris County	12,155	2,114	88	10	1	1,091	26	0	99	1,426	467	465
Marion County	9,870	1,892	61	0	2	308	0	93	16	1,202	391	365

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Cass County	14.82	24.84	0.41	0.03	0.08	4.15	0.15	0.18	0.22	10.45	3.03	2.98
Texas	14.72	2.87	0.28	0.09	1.35	31.59	2.39	1.04	2.37	8.14	2.23	1.43
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
Caddo Parish	16.59	4.22	0.36	0.05	0.47	2.28	0.46	0.11	0.25	33.22	7.85	7.35
Bowie County	12.20	17.86	0.52	0.07	0.31	6.52	0.34	0.07	0.87	15.80	5.42	3.44
Miller County	14.80	7.67	0.49	0.01	0.37	2.91	0.25	0.04	0.24	18.13	3.76	3.64
Morris County	12.39	17.39	0.72	0.08	0.01	8.98	0.21	0.00	0.81	11.73	3.84	3.83
Marion County	12.50	19.17	0.62	0.00	0.02	3.12	0.00	0.94	0.16	12.18	3.96	3.70

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

Cass County		864.10	146.69	34.11	5.71	13.15	6.16	16.88	9.32	128.41	135.59	208.65
Texas		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		140.76	230.24	196.94	243.93	35.85	75.19	130.06	45.26	92.67	102.36	146.29
Caddo Parish		146.68	128.38	53.32	34.60	7.22	19.19	10.69	10.74	408.07	351.10	514.65
Bowie County		621.12	186.24	77.56	23.18	20.64	14.37	6.28	36.57	194.09	242.54	240.61
Miller County		266.78	174.01	12.95	27.15	9.22	10.62	3.92	10.32	222.67	168.10	254.56
Morris County		604.96	258.51	88.79	0.61	28.41	8.93	0.00	34.32	144.12	171.92	267.77
Marion County		666.78	220.68	0.00	1.50	9.88	0.00	90.58	6.83	149.60	177.26	258.84

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

Cass County		613.89	63.71	17.32	2.34	36.67	8.19	12.98	20.60	138.57	132.47	142.63
Texas		71.04	43.43	50.78	41.00	278.92	133.00	76.89	220.97	107.91	97.70	68.36
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Caddo Parish		104.20	55.76	27.07	14.18	20.13	25.53	8.22	23.74	440.36	343.01	351.80
Bowie County		441.27	80.89	39.38	9.50	57.56	19.11	4.83	80.80	209.45	236.96	164.47
Miller County		189.53	75.58	6.58	11.13	25.71	14.13	3.02	22.80	240.29	164.23	174.00
Morris County		429.79	112.28	45.08	0.25	79.24	11.88	0.00	75.83	155.52	167.96	183.03
Marion County		473.70	95.85	0.00	0.61	27.55	0.00	69.64	15.09	161.44	173.18	176.93

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

Cass County	28,480	30	1,764	181	134	948	137	48	84	1,304	123	221
Texas (in 000's)	31,782	47	1,148	72	205	1,152	237	130	195	1,068	107	442
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
Caddo Parish	226,687	670	9,460	314	2,886	5,337	1,927	281	742	9,444	454	1,720
Bowie County	91,837	59	4,037	275	463	2,851	507	218	483	4,383	114	721
Miller County	41,657	38	2,275	171	264	1,148	194	79	177	2,666	63	223
Morris County	12,155	21	539	40	55	420	59	18	134	558	11	113
Marion County	9,870	0	612	93	99	388	49	15	70	540	124	64

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Cass County	14.82	0.11	6.19	0.64	0.47	3.33	0.48	0.17	0.29	4.58	0.43	0.78
Texas	14.72	0.15	3.61	0.23	0.64	3.62	0.75	0.41	0.61	3.36	0.34	1.39
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
Caddo Parish	16.59	0.30	4.17	0.14	1.27	2.35	0.85	0.12	0.33	4.17	0.20	0.76
Bowie County	12.20	0.06	4.40	0.30	0.50	3.10	0.55	0.24	0.53	4.77	0.12	0.79
Miller County	14.80	0.09	5.46	0.41	0.63	2.76	0.47	0.19	0.42	6.40	0.15	0.54
Morris County	12.39	0.17	4.43	0.33	0.45	3.46	0.49	0.15	1.10	4.59	0.09	0.93
Marion County	12.50	0.00	6.20	0.94	1.00	3.93	0.50	0.15	0.71	5.47	1.26	0.65

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

Cass County		71.56	171.51	282.36	73.02	91.83	64.47	41.32	48.17	136.19	128.78	55.78
Texas		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		267.21	145.76	236.61	164.66	198.59	352.45	333.30	284.01	178.73	99.05	200.27
Caddo Parish		200.79	115.55	61.54	197.59	64.95	113.92	30.39	53.46	123.92	59.72	54.54
Bowie County		43.64	121.72	133.04	78.24	85.64	73.98	58.19	85.90	141.96	37.01	56.43
Miller County		61.97	151.22	182.38	98.36	76.03	62.41	46.49	69.40	190.37	45.09	38.48
Morris County		117.37	122.79	146.21	70.23	95.33	65.05	36.30	180.06	136.55	26.98	66.83
Marion County		0.00	171.69	418.63	155.67	108.45	66.53	37.26	115.84	162.74	374.61	46.61

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

Cass County		26.78	117.66	119.34	44.35	46.24	18.29	12.40	16.96	76.20	130.01	27.85
Texas		37.42	68.61	42.26	60.73	50.36	28.37	30.00	35.21	55.95	100.96	49.93
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Caddo Parish		75.14	79.28	26.01	120.00	32.71	32.32	9.12	18.82	69.33	60.29	27.23
Bowie County		16.33	83.51	56.23	47.52	43.13	20.99	17.46	30.25	79.43	37.37	28.18
Miller County		23.19	103.75	77.08	59.73	38.28	17.71	13.95	24.44	106.51	45.53	19.21
Morris County		43.92	84.24	61.79	42.65	48.00	18.46	10.89	63.40	76.40	27.24	33.37
Marion County		0.00	117.79	176.93	94.54	54.61	18.88	11.18	40.79	91.05	378.20	23.27

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

Cass County	28,480	66	7	2	0	51	4	0	28	30	4,068	6,000
Texas (in 000's)	31,782	251	167	27	91	312	671	109	74	109	4,681	3,388
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
Caddo Parish	226,687	635	507	39	80	350	731	252	320	317	31,103	30,774
Bowie County	91,837	74	212	3	161	221	221	79	124	245	13,672	15,677
Miller County	41,657	0	0	0	14	28	46	35	114	90	9,007	9,400
Morris County	12,155	0	0	0	0	69	0	0	24	2	1,959	2,346
Marion County	9,870	0	16	4	0	0	6	0	16	11	1,666	1,767

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Cass County	14.82	0.23	0.02	0.01	0.00	0.18	0.01	0.00	0.10	0.11	14.28	21.07
Texas	14.72	0.79	0.53	0.08	0.29	0.98	2.11	0.34	0.23	0.34	14.73	10.66
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
Caddo Parish	16.59	0.28	0.22	0.02	0.04	0.15	0.32	0.11	0.14	0.14	13.72	13.58
Bowie County	12.20	0.08	0.23	0.00	0.18	0.24	0.24	0.09	0.14	0.27	14.89	17.07
Miller County	14.80	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.07	0.11	0.08	0.27	0.22	21.62	22.57
Morris County	12.39	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.57	0.00	0.00	0.20	0.02	16.12	19.30
Marion County	12.50	0.00	0.16	0.04	0.00	0.00	0.06	0.00	0.16	0.11	16.88	17.90

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

Cass County		29.33	4.68	8.28	0.00	18.26	0.66	0.00	42.44	30.79	96.98	197.60
Texas		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		164.48	167.03	272.35	156.45	56.83	75.20	139.56	154.61	164.38	93.60	139.36
Caddo Parish		35.45	42.60	20.29	12.30	15.74	15.27	32.42	60.94	40.87	93.16	127.33
Bowie County		10.20	43.97	3.85	61.08	24.54	11.39	25.08	58.29	77.97	101.08	160.11
Miller County		0.00	0.00	0.00	11.71	6.85	5.23	24.50	118.13	63.14	146.80	211.65
Morris County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	57.89	0.00	0.00	85.23	4.81	109.43	181.03
Marion County		0.00	30.87	47.79	0.00	0.00	2.88	0.00	69.98	32.57	114.60	167.92

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

Cass County		17.83	2.80	3.04	0.00	32.13	0.88	0.00	27.45	18.73	103.61	141.79
Texas		60.80	59.87	36.72	63.92	175.97	132.99	71.65	64.68	60.83	106.83	71.76
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Caddo Parish		21.55	25.50	7.45	7.86	27.71	20.30	23.23	39.41	24.86	99.52	91.37
Bowie County		6.20	26.32	1.41	39.04	43.18	15.15	17.97	37.70	47.43	107.98	114.89
Miller County		0.00	0.00	0.00	7.48	12.06	6.95	17.55	76.41	38.41	156.83	151.87
Morris County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	101.86	0.00	0.00	55.13	2.93	116.90	129.90
Marion County		0.00	18.48	17.55	0.00	0.00	3.83	0.00	45.26	19.81	122.44	120.49

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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