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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)

Mills County	4,661	341	9	0	0	766	0	0	77	11	10	7
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
Brown County	38,422	2,410	135	15	109	7,548	92	14	505	694	261	331
Lampasas County	23,650	1,292	108	82	773	3,251	209	28	417	571	127	118
Comanche County	14,501	1,167	54	4	0	3,837	1	0	317	36	15	10
Hamilton County	8,620	737	27	1	0	1,079	15	0	33	90	7	0
San Saba County	5,571	382	33	1	19	1,514	23	6	98	76	26	22

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Mills County	13.84	7.32	0.19	0.00	0.00	16.43	0.00	0.00	1.65	0.24	0.21	0.15
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
Brown County	12.99	6.27	0.35	0.04	0.28	19.64	0.24	0.04	1.31	1.81	0.68	0.86
Lampasas County	11.42	5.46	0.46	0.35	3.27	13.75	0.88	0.12	1.76	2.41	0.54	0.50
Comanche County	15.82	8.05	0.37	0.03	0.00	26.46	0.01	0.00	2.19	0.25	0.10	0.07
Hamilton County	13.63	8.55	0.31	0.01	0.00	12.52	0.17	0.00	0.38	1.04	0.08	0.00
San Saba County	15.59	6.86	0.59	0.02	0.34	27.18	0.41	0.11	1.76	1.36	0.47	0.39

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

Mills County		254.48	68.95	0.00	0.00	52.02	0.00	0.00	69.61	2.90	9.60	10.51
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
Brown County		218.18	125.46	42.13	20.97	62.18	10.00	3.50	55.38	22.19	30.40	60.30
Lampasas County		190.02	163.06	374.20	241.60	43.51	36.90	11.38	74.29	29.66	24.03	34.92
Comanche County		279.93	132.97	29.77	0.00	83.75	0.29	0.00	92.11	3.05	4.63	4.83
Hamilton County		297.40	111.84	12.52	0.00	39.62	7.27	0.00	16.13	12.83	3.63	0.00
San Saba County		238.51	211.51	19.37	25.21	86.02	17.24	10.35	74.12	16.76	20.88	27.64

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

Mills County		180.79	29.95	0.00	0.00	145.09	0.00	0.00	153.81	3.13	9.38	7.19
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
Brown County		155.00	54.49	21.39	8.60	173.44	13.30	2.69	122.37	23.94	29.70	41.22
Lampasas County		135.00	70.82	190.00	99.05	121.36	49.07	8.75	164.16	32.01	23.48	23.87
Comanche County		198.87	57.75	15.12	0.00	233.61	0.38	0.00	203.53	3.29	4.52	3.30
Hamilton County		211.28	48.58	6.36	0.00	110.51	9.66	0.00	35.64	13.84	3.55	0.00
San Saba County		169.45	91.87	9.84	10.34	239.93	22.93	7.96	163.78	18.08	20.40	18.89

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

Mills County	4,661	0	334	18	27	404	33	5	22	373	56	279
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
Brown County	38,422	82	2,179	193	238	2,351	244	94	262	3,088	387	2,792
Lampasas County	23,650	63	1,691	70	324	2,381	339	183	199	1,797	132	485
Comanche County	14,501	35	1,081	64	155	641	50	45	163	839	25	531
Hamilton County	8,620	4	824	44	86	782	45	34	173	707	0	485
San Saba County	5,571	0	362	23	23	353	29	27	48	418	14	101

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Mills County	13.84	0.00	7.17	0.39	0.58	8.67	0.71	0.11	0.47	8.00	1.20	5.99
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
Brown County	12.99	0.21	5.67	0.50	0.62	6.12	0.64	0.24	0.68	8.04	1.01	7.27
Lampasas County	11.42	0.27	7.15	0.30	1.37	10.07	1.43	0.77	0.84	7.60	0.56	2.05
Comanche County	15.82	0.24	7.45	0.44	1.07	4.42	0.34	0.31	1.12	5.79	0.17	3.66
Hamilton County	13.63	0.05	9.56	0.51	1.00	9.07	0.52	0.39	2.01	8.20	0.00	5.63
San Saba County	15.59	0.00	6.50	0.41	0.41	6.34	0.52	0.48	0.86	7.50	0.25	1.81

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

Mills County		0.00	198.42	171.58	89.90	239.12	94.88	26.30	77.09	238.04	358.25	430.28
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
Brown County		144.98	157.04	223.18	96.14	168.81	85.11	59.97	111.38	239.06	300.33	522.35
Lampasas County		180.97	197.98	131.50	212.62	277.75	192.10	189.69	137.43	226.01	166.42	147.41
Comanche County		163.97	206.42	196.09	165.89	121.95	46.21	76.07	183.59	172.10	51.41	263.22
Hamilton County		31.52	264.69	226.78	154.84	250.28	69.96	96.69	327.80	243.97	0.00	404.44
San Saba County		0.00	179.93	183.43	64.07	174.81	69.76	118.81	140.73	223.18	74.93	130.32

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

Mills County		0.00	136.13	72.52	54.60	120.41	26.92	7.89	27.14	133.18	361.68	214.84
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
Brown County		54.26	107.74	94.32	58.38	85.01	24.15	17.99	39.22	133.76	303.21	260.81
Lampasas County		67.72	135.83	55.58	129.13	139.86	54.50	56.91	48.39	126.46	168.02	73.61
Comanche County		61.36	141.61	82.87	100.75	61.41	13.11	22.82	64.64	96.29	51.90	131.43
Hamilton County		11.80	181.59	95.85	94.03	126.03	19.85	29.01	115.42	136.50	0.00	201.94
San Saba County		0.00	123.44	77.52	38.91	88.03	19.79	35.65	49.55	124.87	75.65	65.07

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

Mills County	4,661	0	0	0	0	1	0	8	1	0	807	1,072
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
Brown County	38,422	49	11	0	3	59	44	52	26	17	6,902	7,235
Lampasas County	23,650	0	43	0	63	48	39	66	0	22	4,404	4,325
Comanche County	14,501	0	0	4	3	1	19	6	26	0	2,794	2,578
Hamilton County	8,620	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	13	0	1,228	2,198
San Saba County	5,571	0	2	2	0	8	0	1	2	0	1,074	884

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Mills County	13.84	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.00	0.17	0.02	0.00	17.31	23.00
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
Brown County	12.99	0.13	0.03	0.00	0.01	0.15	0.11	0.14	0.07	0.04	17.96	18.83
Lampasas County	11.42	0.00	0.18	0.00	0.27	0.20	0.16	0.28	0.00	0.09	18.62	18.29
Comanche County	15.82	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.02	0.01	0.13	0.04	0.18	0.00	19.27	17.78
Hamilton County	13.63	0.08	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.15	0.00	14.25	25.50
San Saba County	15.59	0.00	0.04	0.04	0.00	0.14	0.00	0.02	0.04	0.00	19.28	15.87

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

Mills County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.19	0.00	50.05	9.26	0.00	117.55	215.72
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
Brown County		16.14	5.45	0.00	2.72	15.66	5.42	39.46	29.21	12.93	121.97	176.62
Lampasas County		0.00	34.63	0.00	92.81	20.70	7.81	81.37	0.00	27.19	126.43	171.53
Comanche County		0.00	0.00	32.52	7.21	0.70	6.20	12.06	77.40	0.00	130.82	166.75
Hamilton County		10.28	0.00	13.68	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	65.10	0.00	96.72	239.16
San Saba County		0.00	6.84	42.33	0.00	14.64	0.00	5.23	15.50	0.00	130.89	148.83

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

Mills County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.85	0.00	35.86	5.99	0.00	125.59	154.79
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
Brown County		9.81	3.26	0.00	1.74	27.55	7.21	28.28	18.89	7.87	130.30	126.74
Lampasas County		0.00	20.73	0.00	59.32	36.42	10.38	58.31	0.00	16.54	135.07	123.08
Comanche County		0.00	0.00	11.94	4.61	1.24	8.25	8.64	50.06	0.00	139.76	119.65
Hamilton County		6.25	0.00	5.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	42.11	0.00	103.33	171.62
San Saba County		0.00	4.09	15.54	0.00	25.77	0.00	3.75	10.02	0.00	139.84	106.80

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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