"Genes are like the story, and DNA is the language that the story is written in." - Sam Kean

 What are we? Czech or Polish?

For most my life I have heard stories that we are actually Polish, or we might be Polish. I've also heard stories that the first Lutovskys actually spelled their name Lutovski because originally the family surname was of Polish origin even though the family lived in Bohemia. I've also heard that two Polish brothers fled Poland and changed the spelling of their name to Lutovsky with a "y" to blend in with the Czech people. There was another story which had something about two Polish princes fleeing Poland...now this one I could totally relate to being a person who identifies as royalty. I've spent my entire life in a state of bewilderment trying to figure out why the hell I have to work for a living and wash my own clothing...and why none of my servants have ever showed up for work?

OK, back on track now....Well, whatever the story, they are all a bunch of nonsense. One thing about DNA is it does not lie.

I have done a couple DNA tests now and there is no Polish blood in me, which means there is no Polish blood in any of my ancestors. Some of my cousins have also done DNA tests and they don't have any Polish blood either, so that makes it carved in stone. Lutovskys are of Czech origin. Nothing more to discuss here.

Because of my Grandma Matilda Lovcik, we do have German blood as well. For those who aren't aware, Matilda's mother was Aloisie Rumreich, which is definitely a German surname. Here's a little snap shot of our family tree showing a few of Matilda's ancestors...and our ancestors.

Another side note here: As with my Grandma Matilda, going forward I won't be using people's titles when speaking about them, such as Grandma. And not because I have a lack of respect for their positions in the family, but ancestral history gets really, really confusing trying to keep straight who is who. And by using people's titles, it just muddies the waters of confusion even further. Matilda was my Grandma, but that could be confusing for others to whom she may have been a Great Grandma or 2nd Great Grandma, or Grand Grand Aunt twice removed, etc. By using anyone's title, it just means anyone who isn't a 1st cousin of mine will have to constantly be recalculating the person's relationship to them....and trust me! It gets incredibly confusing. Here's a better example: If I refer to someone as my 2nd Great Grand Uncle once removed, then everyone who isn't a 1st cousin of mine is going to have to recalculate what that person's relationship is to them. So recalculate away all of you who aren't a 1st cousin of mine. LOL Because of the complexity of family history I'm going to try and keep this as simple and straight forward as possible.

I'm not aware of any of my Dad's brothers or sisters having done a DNA test, however I am hoping that someone will. Whoever does one should have around 25% to 30% or so of German DNA since their Mother Matilda would have had around 50% or so, of German blood. Here is my ancestral make up according to my DNA from 23 & Me..

DNA Testing & Violent Crimes

Most likely we've all seen in the news, articles about criminals being caught after their DNA was discovered at crime scenes. The detectives have taken that DNA and compared it to all the millions of people's DNA that is posted on the different web sites which offer DNA testing. And the criminals have been caught...and pretty easily due to DNA collection and identification methods being pretty sophisticated these days.

I have had conversations with a few family members who have said that they would never do a DNA test because of that. I quickly asked, "is that because you are planning on committing violent crimes?" This only applies to criminals of violent crimes where there's blood or human fluids left at crime scenes. If you're going to rob a bank be sure not to spit or let a hair fall off your body. That shut them up. But then I had to break the news to them by saying sweetheart, that ship has already long sailed. Even though you haven't done a DNA test, I have (and other Lutovsky relatives, Lovcik relatives, Rumreich relatives, etc.) and literally thousands of others who are a DNA match to you.

It's crazy how many people are a DNA match to all of us. And to demonstrate this, below are my test results from the two web sites which have my DNA. On both of the screen shots I have circled how many people are a DNA match to me...which means they are a DNA match to each of you also.

Above is my DNA results from Ancestry.com. There are 3,883 other people who have also tested their DNA who are a match to me...and to you.

Above is my DNA test result from 23 & Me, and between close relatives and distant relatives there are another 1500 people who are a DNA match to me. So between the two sites, that is a total of 5,383 people who are a DNA match to me...and to you.

DNA is literally like a giant flashing red arrow for detectives. Perpetrator is this way 🠊, and it's pretty simple to understand, even for an amateur DNA sleuth like myself. Above in the screen shot of my DNA results, you can see there are four 1st cousins once removed listed.

Just for clarity: a 1st cousin once removed would refer to all the children of my first cousins and our relationships to each other. The once removed thing just refers to the generation. Since they are children of my cousins, that makes them one generation below me, or one generation younger than me, if you want to think if it that way...so they are once removed. This can refer to one generation above me as well. Any of my Dad's 1st cousins are 1st cousins once removed to me, since they are one generation higher than me, or one generation older than me. Once removed, or twice removed, etc., just refers to the generations.

All of them (1st cousins once removed) and I share between 5.45% and 7.88% DNA segments. So for a police detective, if DNA is found at a crime scene, they could compare it to all the test results and then say wow, look at this. The perpetrator shares 6.5% DNA segments with some dude named Wes. That means that the criminal is a 1st cousin once removed to him (and it would even tell the detectives if the 1st cousin once removed match was on my Mother's side of the family or my Father's side of the family)...and then it's just a matter of time until they figure out which of the 1st cousins once removed committed the crime.

My point? If anyone is fearful of doing a DNA test and think they are protecting their privacy or the integrity of their DNA....TOO LATE!!!!! Those beans have already been spilt. And just in general, it's never good to commit any crimes, violent or non-violent. I have no concerns about my DNA being on file or ever committing crimes because I know that will never happen. I am way to busy sitting here waiting for my servants to show up to work.