Article in the National Cyclopedia of American Biography (James T. White & Co. New York, Vol 31, 1944)

WINDMULLER, Louis, financier, was born in Munster, Westphalia, Germany, Aug. 31, 1835. He attended school in Munster and studied for a time at the Catholic university but was forced to leave because of lack of money to complete his course.

Coming to New York city in 1853 with about $15 in his pocket and no acquaintances to assist him, he found work as a clerk in a store and within four years had succeeded so well that he established merchandising business of his own. In 1865 he formed a partnership with a friend and fellow countryman, Alfred Roelker, under the name of Windmuller & Roelker which was in existence for many years. The firm became one of the most prominent importing and commission houses in the country, with a branch at Frankfurt, Germany. It dealt in general merchandising, munitions and iron rails.

In addition to this business he entered into banking, insurance and other activities. For many years he was president of the Maiden Lane Savings Bank and first vice president and a director of the Maiden Lane Safe Deposit Co. He was one of the founders in 1872 and a director of the German-American Insurance Co. and a founder and director of the German Alliance Insurance Co., Bond & Mortgage Guarantee Co. and Hide & Leather National Bank. In 1882 he was one of the organizers of the Title Guarantee & Trust Co., of which he was treasurer for eight years and later a member of the executive committee. This organization brought about improvement in the methods of dealing with real estate by insuring titles and facilitating transfers and contributed much toward establishing more stable real estate values.

Windmuller became a member of the New York chamber of commerce early in his business career and was chairman for many years of its committee on internal trade. He was at one time managing director of the New York board of trade and transportation and treasurer of the Legal Aid Society.

Active in politics, he assisted in founding the Reform Club in 1888, served as its treasurer and raised funds to buy its home on Fifth avenue. The club had members in all parts of the United States and exerted a wide political influence. Together with Carl Schurz, Oswald Ottendorfer, William Steinway and Henry Villard (qq.v.), he started the German-American Cleveland Union in the presidential campaign of 1892. He was a vigorous opponent of the McKinley tariff act and contributed articles to various magazines and newspapers on silver legislation, civil service reform and national economy.

In 1889 he was chairman of the committee on arrangements for the German portion of the centennial celebration of Washington's inaugural and wrote two articles describing it. As a member of the board of the German hospital he collected and exhibited for its benefit in 1889 a number of fine paintings, which brought in more than $100,000. He also collected a fund toward the erection of a monument to Goethe in one of the city's parks.

Windmuller was a member of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, New York Historical Society, Germanistic Sodety, Arion Society, Isabella Heimath Society, Heine Monument Association, Metropolitan museum of art and the Merchants, German, Lotos, Insurance, New York Athletic, Commonwealth and National Arts clubs of New York city.

An Episcoparian in religion, he was a vestryman of St. Paul's Church and assisted in the erection of the church edifice. Sympathetic and compassionate, he was easily moved by distress and privation and anyone in need could readily obtain assistance from him.

One of his favorite recreations was walking and he was described as "the noblost walker of them all". In 1913 he suggested the foundation of a Pedestrian's Club, of which many distinguished man in New York city became members.

He was married in Hoboken, H. J., Nov. 23, 1859, to Anna Elisa daughter of Henry Lefman, a wholesale silk nerchant of New York city, and they had three sons and three daughterst Carl Adolf, Bertha, Clara Louise, who married Julius Heynen, Louis Adelburg; Henry Oliver, and Annie May Windmuller. Louis Windmuller died in Woodside, N.Y., Oct. 1, 1913.