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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)

Powhatan County	32,608	3,159	60	16	134	441	176	96	36	1,644	524	506
Virginia (in 000's)	8,893	582	19	6	172	223	326	155	66	1,026	341	252
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
Chesterfield County	394,190	17,680	849	182	10,372	9,400	18,006	4,340	2,039	64,411	13,091	11,331
Henrico County	341,581	12,911	825	117	4,923	5,854	7,147	2,985	1,501	68,515	16,092	13,474
Goochland County	28,725	1,945	56	2	128	578	0	213	67	2,424	722	699
Amelia County	13,856	1,152	23	0	140	0	104	97	11	1,740	488	486
Cumberland County	10,197	625	42	7	25	57	7	105	27	1,823	567	553

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Powhatan County	12.04	9.69	0.18	0.05	0.41	1.35	0.54	0.29	0.11	5.04	1.61	1.55
Virginia	8.45	6.55	0.21	0.07	1.93	2.51	3.66	1.74	0.74	11.53	3.83	2.83
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
Chesterfield County	9.60	4.49	0.22	0.05	2.63	2.38	4.57	1.10	0.52	16.34	3.32	2.87
Henrico County	9.90	3.78	0.24	0.03	1.44	1.71	2.09	0.87	0.44	20.06	4.71	3.94
Goochland County	10.67	6.77	0.19	0.01	0.45	2.01	0.00	0.74	0.23	8.44	2.51	2.43
Amelia County	13.73	8.31	0.17	0.00	1.01	0.00	0.75	0.70	0.08	12.56	3.52	3.51
Cumberland County	14.18	6.13	0.41	0.07	0.25	0.56	0.07	1.03	0.26	17.88	5.56	5.42

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

Powhatan County		147.91	86.25	70.76	21.28	53.94	14.73	16.91	14.84	43.72	41.97	54.87
Virginia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		61.78	302.22	263.16	170.85	451.71	49.15	77.70	144.42	65.41	59.74	73.90
Chesterfield County		68.48	100.95	66.58	136.23	95.10	124.67	63.23	69.55	141.69	86.73	101.63
Henrico County		57.71	113.21	49.40	74.62	68.35	57.11	50.19	59.08	173.93	123.03	139.47
Goochland County		103.38	91.38	10.04	23.07	80.25	0.00	42.58	31.36	73.17	65.64	86.04
Amelia County		126.94	77.80	0.00	52.31	0.00	20.49	40.20	10.67	108.89	91.98	124.01
Cumberland County		93.58	193.06	99.00	12.69	22.29	1.87	59.14	35.60	155.02	145.21	191.74

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

Powhatan County		239.40	28.54	26.89	12.45	11.94	29.97	21.76	10.28	66.83	70.25	74.24
Virginia		161.85	33.09	38.00	58.53	22.14	203.46	128.70	69.24	152.88	167.39	135.32
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Chesterfield County		110.84	33.40	25.30	79.73	21.05	253.66	81.38	48.16	216.61	145.18	137.53
Henrico County		93.40	37.46	18.77	43.67	15.13	116.19	64.59	40.91	265.90	205.94	188.73
Goochland County		167.33	30.24	3.82	13.50	17.77	0.00	54.81	21.72	111.87	109.88	116.43
Amelia County		205.46	25.74	0.00	30.62	0.00	41.68	51.74	7.39	166.47	153.96	167.82
Cumberland County		151.46	63.88	37.62	7.43	4.94	3.81	76.11	24.65	236.99	243.08	259.47

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

Powhatan County	32,608	106	4,577	182	429	2,619	675	240	424	3,202	31	1,290
Virginia (in 000's)	8,893	21	591	30	62	457	162	69	77	533	24	218
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
Chesterfield County	394,190	870	30,596	1,251	3,082	20,212	8,356	3,024	3,445	22,235	742	10,118
Henrico County	341,581	617	22,888	701	1,696	13,393	5,694	2,281	2,006	18,150	746	7,650
Goochland County	28,725	72	4,125	85	191	2,032	647	234	533	2,229	24	1,241
Amelia County	13,856	5	1,361	23	190	492	179	26	81	1,072	0	145
Cumberland County	10,197	27	665	24	72	470	44	30	16	561	0	101

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Powhatan County	12.04	0.33	14.04	0.56	1.32	8.03	2.07	0.74	1.30	9.82	0.10	3.96
Virginia	8.45	0.23	6.64	0.33	0.70	5.14	1.82	0.77	0.87	6.00	0.27	2.45
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
Chesterfield County	9.60	0.22	7.76	0.32	0.78	5.13	2.12	0.77	0.87	5.64	0.19	2.57
Henrico County	9.90	0.18	6.70	0.21	0.50	3.92	1.67	0.67	0.59	5.31	0.22	2.24
Goochland County	10.67	0.25	14.36	0.30	0.66	7.07	2.25	0.81	1.86	7.76	0.08	4.32
Amelia County	13.73	0.04	9.82	0.17	1.37	3.55	1.29	0.19	0.58	7.74	0.00	1.05
Cumberland County	14.18	0.26	6.52	0.24	0.71	4.61	0.43	0.29	0.16	5.50	0.00	0.99

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

Powhatan County		139.43	211.38	167.02	188.28	156.33	113.61	94.98	150.25	163.75	35.50	161.76
Virginia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		168.72	79.27	159.36	151.84	140.11	144.35	175.45	200.93	100.20	124.06	113.92
Chesterfield County		94.67	116.89	94.97	111.89	99.80	116.35	98.99	100.99	94.06	70.30	104.95
Henrico County		77.48	100.91	61.41	71.06	76.32	91.49	86.17	67.86	88.61	81.56	91.57
Goochland County		107.51	216.26	88.55	95.16	137.69	123.62	105.12	214.41	129.40	31.20	176.65
Amelia County		15.48	147.92	49.67	196.24	69.11	70.90	24.21	67.55	129.01	0.00	42.79
Cumberland County		113.57	98.21	70.43	101.05	89.71	23.68	37.97	18.13	91.74	0.00	40.50

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

Powhatan County		82.64	266.65	104.81	124.00	111.58	78.71	54.13	74.78	163.43	28.62	141.99
Virginia		59.27	126.14	62.75	65.86	71.37	69.28	57.00	49.77	99.80	80.61	87.78
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Chesterfield County		56.11	147.45	59.59	73.69	71.23	80.60	56.42	50.26	93.88	56.66	92.13
Henrico County		45.92	127.29	38.54	46.80	54.47	63.38	49.12	33.77	88.43	65.74	80.38
Goochland County		63.72	272.80	55.56	62.67	98.27	85.64	59.92	106.71	129.14	25.15	155.06
Amelia County		9.17	186.60	31.17	129.24	49.33	49.12	13.80	33.62	128.76	0.00	37.56
Cumberland County		67.32	123.89	44.20	66.55	64.03	16.41	21.64	9.02	91.56	0.00	35.55

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

Powhatan County	32,608	22	41	0	54	0	0	1	33	175	4,231	7,484
Virginia (in 000's)	8,893	80	79	12	78	67	223	44	41	74	1,377	1,409
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
Chesterfield County	394,190	1,740	2,923	326	1,907	1,164	4,132	1,296	702	1,817	63,973	58,578
Henrico County	341,581	3,874	1,343	258	1,720	3,079	19,052	2,104	1,514	3,534	53,493	41,444
Goochland County	28,725	27	37	35	21	261	124	33	18	186	4,153	5,583
Amelia County	13,856	0	0	0	2	12	2	1	18	0	2,764	3,242
Cumberland County	10,197	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	8	2,310	2,012

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Powhatan County	12.04	0.07	0.13	0.00	0.17	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10	0.54	12.98	22.95
Virginia	8.45	0.89	0.89	0.13	0.87	0.75	2.51	0.50	0.46	0.83	15.48	15.84
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
Chesterfield County	9.60	0.44	0.74	0.08	0.48	0.30	1.05	0.33	0.18	0.46	16.23	14.86
Henrico County	9.90	1.13	0.39	0.08	0.50	0.90	5.58	0.62	0.44	1.03	15.66	12.13
Goochland County	10.67	0.09	0.13	0.12	0.07	0.91	0.43	0.11	0.06	0.65	14.46	19.44
Amelia County	13.73	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.09	0.01	0.01	0.13	0.00	19.95	23.40
Cumberland County	14.18	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.08	22.65	19.73

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

Powhatan County		7.54	14.14	0.00	18.94	0.00	0.00	0.62	21.83	64.32	83.80	144.87
Virginia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		145.22	98.63	177.18	51.35	73.84	63.27	96.58	77.26	67.41	89.04	93.79
Chesterfield County		49.32	83.39	63.44	55.32	39.12	41.76	66.34	38.41	55.24	104.82	93.80
Henrico County		126.73	44.22	57.94	57.58	119.43	222.19	124.30	95.61	123.99	101.14	76.59
Goochland County		10.50	14.49	93.46	8.36	120.39	17.20	23.18	13.52	77.60	93.38	122.68
Amelia County		0.00	0.00	0.00	1.65	11.47	0.58	1.46	28.02	0.00	128.84	147.69
Cumberland County		5.48	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	29.61	9.40	146.31	124.55

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

Powhatan County		5.19	14.34	0.00	36.88	0.00	0.00	0.64	28.26	95.42	94.12	154.47
Virginia		68.86	101.39	56.44	194.73	135.43	158.05	103.54	129.44	148.36	112.31	106.63
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Chesterfield County		33.96	84.55	35.80	107.73	52.99	66.00	68.69	49.72	81.95	117.72	100.02
Henrico County		87.27	44.83	32.70	112.14	161.75	351.17	128.69	123.75	183.94	113.59	81.66
Goochland County		7.23	14.69	52.75	16.28	163.04	27.18	24.00	17.50	115.12	104.87	130.81
Amelia County		0.00	0.00	0.00	3.21	15.54	0.91	1.51	36.27	0.00	144.69	157.48
Cumberland County		3.77	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	38.33	13.95	164.32	132.80

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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