New York 24 February 1855

My dear Grandfather! My dearest Sisters! Dear Aunts and Uncles!

In keeping with my promise, I write today, three months after the day when I first touched American soil and describe the pleasant and unpleasant impressions which I have experienced during this time.

But first I have to complain that you neither answered my letter from Southampton from the 8th November nor the one sent from here on the 24th of this month. You cannot use the excuse that in the last letter my address was not altogether clear since you do have the addresses of my cousin Jacob Windmüller through the Kappels as well as the S. Frankenheimers & Sutros which you gave me before my departure. If in the future you still remain silent which I cannot explain, then I'll start writing to friends who will reply to my letters.

The unfriendly weather and the cold reception from our relatives which …[?] touched by conscience brought forth feelings of abandonment… [?] Fr.]=[Frankenheimer?] was …[?] and I myself was a clerk in another store and as a consequence I could not remain with him.  

Sad, but not giving up my courage, I wandered through the streets of the metropolis where you see the greatest poverty and the greatest luxury. New York is a great city and not without justification is called the Empire City. The best products, the… [?], the most beautiful works of art created by the civilized world find a market here. The flags of every nation are represented in the harbor and I believe that every nation or people on this beautiful earth is found on the streets of New York. The Spanish with their grandezza, the French with their inexhaustible politeness, the reserved Dutch, the attentive Chinese, the British with their decisiveness, all these nationalities are represented here. How amazed you would be if from your quiet Muenster you would find yourself transported to Broadway, the premier street of New York. Your ears would become deaf from the noise of wagons which are all bunched up but still move in an orderly fashion; your eyes would become blind from the wealth and luxury of the Italian marble. You would be astonished to see the busy populace which runs as if it needed to reach the end of the world. I had enough time to observe this; for days I looked at this spectacle, however my thoughts were elsewhere. I began to think how I could make a living. After I had worked for a few days in the… [?] factory of Mr. Frankenheimer which was not suitable work for me, I decided to look up my other relatives. I found a helping hand from my cousin  Henry Lefman. And he is now the only one on whom I can depend. Without him I would be lost. He is a well-to-do honest man. He is in every respect above Philipp Frankenheimer.

Concerning myself again, I received from my cousin a few [?] purses,… [?] etc. with which I eagerly went to business. I also went to the houses of the wealthy (on Fifth Avenue, a row of palaces, and asked for the "lady of the house." I was quickly turned away and sometimes invited in and very seldom I sold something. Nevertheless for a time I did well and earned a few dollars a day but after a while my luck ran out and also my money. I then tried [to sell] other things, liquor, wine, and tea; but I had no luck or patience with these.

Later I got a position in a manufacturing business in Brooklyn and stayed there 14 days until I saw that the boss did not treat me fairly. At present I have no occupation but to go for a stroll. Yesterday I received a position starting March 1 in a dry goods store on Broadway due to a recommendation from Henry Lefman.

Concerning my present life, it is pleasant since I left P. F.[=Phillipp Frankenheimer] At first I lived with Americans where I had the opportunity to observe the Yankee way of life and to further my knowledge of English. Now I "board" in a German hotel whose owner was my travel companion on the Hermann and who keeps an excellent kitchen.

Now that I have reported all my doings up to now, it is up to you to let me know what has happened in the family since I last heard from you. I hope you, dear grandfather, are in the best of health. I beg you earnestly, dear Sarah, to tell my sisters to become useful members of society. Let them be industrious, thrifty, and god-fearing. Instill in them the good old teaching: Do right and fear none. When you raise them with these basics and when I may be so fortunate to see them again as blossoming young women physically strong and intellectually developed, then nothing would be more precious to me than to show you my gratitude.

From you, my dear Esther, I require nothing except to send me often…[?] and interesting letters  which will make me happy.

You, my dear Samuel, are happy because you are a philosopher. Regards to your dear wife and children.

As for you, my dear master builder, I write to you that a good engineer who speaks good English can have a good existence here.

The same can be said of your position, my dear lawyer that renditio sine qua non [without any doubt; it goes without saying; something on which something else depends] you have to be slyer than the slyest scoundrels and the worst cheaters.

Now, as for you my dear Obandio[?]… [?], I hope that you have found in Strassburg what you could not find in Hagen and Berlin: perseverance and intellectual stimulation, the most necessary requirements for finding an independent position in life. Should you really be in Paris, then give me your address since I have the opportunity to write every 14-21 days.

If you want to write to me, then address as follows: Per steamer via Liverpool or via Bremen)  Mr. L. Windmüller care of Henry Lefman, New York. I urge you to pass on my letters to my sisters Therese Carolina and Emilie. Moreover I wish you luck and contentment, Your loving Louis Windmüller.

P.S. This morning I was in the office of Sinses…[?] and Hueffer 15 Stone Street in the hope of finding letters from you but my hopes were in vain.

My dear sisters Karolina and Emilie! From the letter above, you can see that I am well and I hope you are well satisfied with your situation and  that you are gaining knowledge which will be useful in every condition of life for the future as well as now when it is most needed. ….[?]  I hope that you, my dear Karolina, are making good progress in your French and English language studies. Also, do not fail to learn the noble culinary arts which are here required of every young girl. I'm convinced you are well trained in feminine needlework since you have been doing that from childhood. I hope you will soon write me a few lines and share with me your sorrows and joys. You, my dear Emilie, know exactly how to profit from the teachings of the excellent lady ….[?] Auerbach and since I saw you last have studied them diligently. Be eager to do right and behave so that our good name is honored. You must prove to me in a short letter that even in Vreden one can learn. Regards to… [?] Frau Pringiholin…[?] from your loving brother.

"Good bye my dear aunts, uncles, and sisters, yours truly Louis Windmüller."