A Bygone Yesterday: a Family Story

A Bygone Yesterday is a remembrance written by a grandson of Samuel and Louise Freund, detailing their roots in 19th century Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and their shoots in the New World, from New York Citys Yorkville neighborhood to Chicago and Florida. It is the history of one couple that stepped aboard a train in Central Europe on a spring day in 1891 and began a journey that would transform their lives and the lives of their descendants. Yet, at the same time, the books broad scope creates a biographical collage, putting flesh on a broad sweep of history. A Bygone Yesterday explores the lives of Samuel and Louise Freund, their ancestors, descendants and kinfolk, as well as the social and historic context of the times in which they lived, touching on, among other things, the restrictive and discriminatory family laws of 19th century Bohemia, early 20th century life in the Yorkville enclave of New York City, the tragedy of the Holocaust and the ultimate triumph of a warm and embracing family life.