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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)

Smyth County	29,211	7,793	36	1	115	341	24	10	62	295	100	86
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
Washington County	54,119	13,486	72	0	237	487	29	40	137	524	168	96
Tazewell County	38,936	8,946	40	12	82	244	109	1	47	708	152	263
Wythe County	28,326	7,902	41	1	67	246	30	0	46	418	147	129
Russell County	25,464	10,528	11	2	1	118	4	0	42	181	42	43
Grayson County	15,300	4,144	18	1	243	231	65	27	21	677	76	80
Bland County	6,251	985	0	0	30	14	5	0	3	152	42	38

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Smyth County	20.78	26.68	0.12	0.00	0.39	1.17	0.08	0.03	0.21	1.01	0.34	0.29
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
Washington County	18.84	24.92	0.13	0.00	0.44	0.90	0.05	0.07	0.25	0.97	0.31	0.18
Tazewell County	21.83	22.98	0.10	0.03	0.21	0.63	0.28	0.00	0.12	1.82	0.39	0.68
Wythe County	19.02	27.90	0.14	0.00	0.24	0.87	0.11	0.00	0.16	1.48	0.52	0.46
Russell County	28.09	41.34	0.04	0.01	0.00	0.46	0.02	0.00	0.16	0.71	0.16	0.17
Grayson County	17.08	27.08	0.12	0.01	1.59	1.51	0.42	0.18	0.14	4.42	0.50	0.52
Bland County	19.88	15.76	0.00	0.00	0.48	0.22	0.08	0.00	0.05	2.43	0.67	0.61

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

Smyth County		407.32	57.76	4.94	20.38	46.56	2.24	1.97	28.54	8.76	8.94	10.41
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
Washington County		380.46	62.36	0.00	22.67	35.89	1.46	4.24	34.04	8.40	8.11	6.27
Tazewell County		350.80	48.15	44.45	10.90	24.99	7.64	0.15	16.23	15.77	10.19	23.88
Wythe County		425.92	67.84	5.09	12.25	34.63	2.89	0.00	21.83	12.80	13.55	16.10
Russell County		631.25	20.25	11.33	0.20	18.48	0.43	0.00	22.18	6.16	4.31	5.97
Grayson County		413.53	55.14	9.43	82.23	60.21	11.60	10.13	18.45	38.37	12.97	18.49
Bland County		240.58	0.00	0.00	24.85	8.93	2.18	0.00	6.45	21.09	17.55	21.49

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

Smyth County		659.27	19.11	1.88	11.93	10.31	4.56	2.53	19.76	13.39	14.97	14.09
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
Washington County		615.79	20.63	0.00	13.27	7.94	2.98	5.46	23.57	12.84	13.57	8.49
Tazewell County		567.78	15.93	16.89	6.38	5.53	15.55	0.19	11.24	24.10	17.07	32.32
Wythe County		689.37	22.45	1.93	7.17	7.67	5.88	0.00	15.12	19.56	22.69	21.79
Russell County		1,021.70	6.70	4.30	0.12	4.09	0.87	0.00	15.36	9.42	7.21	8.08
Grayson County		669.32	18.25	3.58	48.13	13.33	23.59	13.04	12.78	58.66	21.71	25.02
Bland County		389.39	0.00	0.00	14.54	1.98	4.44	0.00	4.47	32.23	29.37	29.09

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

Smyth County	29,211	40	2,866	125	120	1,670	163	67	152	2,423	0	310
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
Washington County	54,119	127	6,047	170	340	2,968	524	154	406	5,069	30	1,051
Tazewell County	38,936	52	3,198	217	105	2,195	335	51	67	3,529	17	328
Wythe County	28,326	60	2,583	107	78	2,335	212	88	186	2,079	64	486
Russell County	25,464	2	2,080	52	96	845	81	47	41	1,450	60	183
Grayson County	15,300	21	1,638	55	37	860	138	30	57	1,024	142	171
Bland County	6,251	0	494	29	65	597	90	18	52	564	6	52

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Smyth County	20.78	0.14	9.81	0.43	0.41	5.72	0.56	0.23	0.52	8.29	0.00	1.06
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
Washington County	18.84	0.23	11.17	0.31	0.63	5.48	0.97	0.28	0.75	9.37	0.06	1.94
Tazewell County	21.83	0.13	8.21	0.56	0.27	5.64	0.86	0.13	0.17	9.06	0.04	0.84
Wythe County	19.02	0.21	9.12	0.38	0.28	8.24	0.75	0.31	0.66	7.34	0.23	1.72
Russell County	28.09	0.01	8.17	0.20	0.38	3.32	0.32	0.18	0.16	5.69	0.24	0.72
Grayson County	17.08	0.14	10.71	0.36	0.24	5.62	0.90	0.20	0.37	6.69	0.93	1.12
Bland County	19.88	0.00	7.90	0.46	1.04	9.55	1.44	0.29	0.83	9.02	0.10	0.83

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

Smyth County		58.74	147.76	128.05	58.79	111.28	30.63	29.60	60.13	138.32	0.00	43.39
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
Washington County		100.66	168.27	94.00	89.91	106.75	53.14	36.72	86.69	156.19	20.70	79.41
Tazewell County		57.28	123.69	166.77	38.59	109.73	47.22	16.90	19.88	151.14	16.31	34.44
Wythe County		90.86	137.33	113.04	39.41	160.45	41.08	40.09	75.88	122.39	84.38	70.15
Russell County		3.37	123.01	61.11	53.95	64.59	17.46	23.82	18.61	94.96	88.00	29.38
Grayson County		58.87	161.23	107.57	34.61	109.41	49.50	25.30	43.05	111.61	346.60	45.70
Bland County		0.00	119.01	138.82	148.81	185.89	79.02	37.16	96.12	150.46	35.85	34.01

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

Smyth County		34.81	186.38	80.35	38.72	79.42	21.22	16.87	29.93	138.05	0.00	38.09
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
Washington County		59.66	212.26	58.98	59.21	76.19	36.82	20.93	43.14	155.88	16.69	69.70
Tazewell County		33.95	156.03	104.65	25.42	78.32	32.71	9.63	9.90	150.84	13.14	30.24
Wythe County		53.85	173.23	70.93	25.95	114.52	28.46	22.85	37.76	122.15	68.02	61.58
Russell County		2.00	155.17	38.35	35.53	46.10	12.10	13.58	9.26	94.77	70.93	25.79
Grayson County		34.89	203.38	67.50	22.79	78.09	34.30	14.42	21.43	111.39	279.39	40.11
Bland County		0.00	150.13	87.11	98.01	132.68	54.74	21.18	47.84	150.16	28.89	29.86

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

Smyth County	29,211	19	0	1	2	0	8	3	60	47	2,676	9,596
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
Washington County	54,119	56	59	2	17	6	125	31	10	119	5,082	16,450
Tazewell County	38,936	1	60	6	1	0	106	15	46	60	3,429	14,514
Wythe County	28,326	32	0	29	0	12	86	1	12	6	2,751	8,092
Russell County	25,464	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	27	42	1,648	7,831
Grayson County	15,300	0	2	0	23	0	57	0	8	20	1,510	3,924
Bland County	6,251	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	4	0	689	2,315

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Smyth County	20.78	0.07	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.03	0.01	0.21	0.16	9.16	32.85
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
Washington County	18.84	0.10	0.11	0.00	0.03	0.01	0.23	0.06	0.02	0.22	9.39	30.40
Tazewell County	21.83	0.00	0.15	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.27	0.04	0.12	0.15	8.81	37.28
Wythe County	19.02	0.11	0.00	0.10	0.00	0.04	0.30	0.00	0.04	0.02	9.71	28.57
Russell County	28.09	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.00	0.11	0.16	6.47	30.75
Grayson County	17.08	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.15	0.00	0.37	0.00	0.05	0.13	9.87	25.65
Bland County	19.88	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.00	0.06	0.00	11.02	37.03

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

Smyth County		7.27	0.00	2.63	0.78	0.00	1.09	2.07	44.31	19.28	59.17	207.36
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
Washington County		11.56	12.26	2.83	3.59	1.47	9.20	11.56	3.99	26.35	60.65	191.86
Tazewell County		0.29	17.33	11.82	0.29	0.00	10.85	7.77	25.48	18.47	56.88	235.29
Wythe County		12.62	0.00	78.53	0.00	5.61	12.09	0.71	9.14	2.54	62.73	180.32
Russell County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.10	0.00	22.87	19.77	41.80	194.12
Grayson County		0.00	1.47	0.00	17.19	0.00	14.84	0.00	11.28	15.67	63.74	161.89
Bland County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.46	0.00	13.80	0.00	71.19	233.76

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

Smyth County		5.00	0.00	1.48	1.52	0.00	1.72	2.15	57.35	28.61	66.45	221.10
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
Washington County		7.96	12.43	1.60	7.00	1.99	14.54	11.97	5.16	39.09	68.11	204.58
Tazewell County		0.20	17.57	6.67	0.57	0.00	17.14	8.05	32.99	27.40	63.88	250.89
Wythe County		8.69	0.00	44.32	0.00	7.60	19.12	0.74	11.83	3.77	70.45	192.27
Russell County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.73	0.00	29.60	29.32	46.94	206.98
Grayson County		0.00	1.49	0.00	33.48	0.00	23.46	0.00	14.60	23.24	71.59	172.61
Bland County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	7.05	0.00	17.87	0.00	79.95	249.25

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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