Working as a Baker: What Louis W. Wollenweber did in Cleveland

It is not often you learn about someone’s occupation from the person themselves. This happened to me this week in researching newspapers for articles about Ludwig Wilhelm (Louis W.) Wollenweber. I located an ad he put into a Cleveland, Ohio, newspaper weekly for nearly a year about his business. I learned quite a bit about his occupation and what his business did from the ad.[1]

“Wollenweber’s New Bakery and Confectionery,” Cleveland Daily Express, 5 Jul 1854, p. 4, col. 1.

There are lots of clues in this ad. I have the name of the establishment: Wollenweber’s New Bakery and Confectionary. Its location is on Pearl Street in Cleveland, opposite H. Stone’s residence. I checked out Pearl Street on a map, and it is a long street, so that wasn’t helpful. In 1850, he was enumerated in the third ward, which if his establishment was close to his residence, that might help.[2] Unfortunately, the census does not provide addresses. The 1850 census did not have any candidates for H. Stone, nor did the 1853 city directory, which mostly named business owners. Louis was also not named.[3]

I learned that before opening the bakery and confectionary, he worked as a cook at two different establishments. It appears he worked first for Weddell House, which was located at the corner of Bank and Superior Streets and was run by C.S. Butts and Sons.[4] The two years prior to his opening his establishment, he worked at the American House, which was located at 42 Superior Street and run by William Milford.[5]

His bakery and confectionary provided lots of bakery goods: Bread, cakes, pies, jellies, fruit, and confectioneries. He catered to private and public parties, pie nights, and private families with delicacies. There were also rooms fitted for Ice Cream for ladies and gentlemen.

The list of ice cream and fruit ices was extensive. How did he get pineapples? Or were these some type of apple? What was a plombier? Roman punch? Granite fruit ice? After some digging, I came up with the following:

• Plombières is a type of French ice cream made with almond extract, kirsch, and candied fruit.[6]

• Roman punch was made with lemonade, champagne and topped with the whipped egg whites as a meringue.[7]

• Granite fruit ice is probably Granita, an Italian dessert made of fruit puree that is frozen, like a snow cone.[8]

• Lastly, I checked out what a Charlotte Russe was. A charlotte is a type of bread pudding and also known as an “ice box” cake. A mold is lined with bread, cake, or biscuits and filled with fruit puree or custard. It is then baked and sprinkled with powdered sugar or a glaze. Charlotte Russe is a cold dessert of Bavarian cream set in a mold lined with ladyfingers.[9]

Check out the links in the footnotes to see images of these desserts.

By 1845, however, Louis was a wine and liquor wholesaler.[10] Perhaps someone bought him out, or it was too much for him to handle. He must have had some staff to run that business.

#52Ancestors: Week 17 – Working for a Living

This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’sSouthern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] “Wollenweber’s New Bakery and Confectionery,” Cleveland Daily Express, 5 Jul 1854, p. 4, col. 1.

[2] 1850 U.S. census, Cuyahoga Co, Ohio, Cleveland Ward 3, p. 253, dwelling 1722, family 1869, Louis Wolleneber.

[3] Business Directory of the City of Cleveland (Knight & Parsons, 1853), 286, imaged, “U.S., Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/ : accessed 19 Apr 2026) > Ohio > Cleveland > 1853 > Knight and Parsons’ Business Directory of the City of Cleveland, 1853.

[4] Business Directory of the City of Cleveland (Knight & Parsons, 1853), 286, imaged, “U.S., Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/41199_1220706242_4284-00337 : accessed 19 Apr 2026) > Ohio > Cleveland > 1853 > Knight and Parsons’ Business Directory of the City of Cleveland, 1853 > image 338 of 392.

[5] Business Directory of the City of Cleveland (Knight & Parsons, 1853), 286, imaged, “U.S., Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/41199_1220706242_4284-00337 : accessed 19 Apr 2026) > Ohio > Cleveland > 1853 > Knight and Parsons’ Business Directory of the City of Cleveland, 1853 > image 338 of 392.

[6] “Glace Plombières – A French classic,” Ice Cream Nation (https://www.icecreamnation.org/2012/09/glace-plombieres/ : accessed 20 Apr 2026).

[7] “Punch Romaine,” Time Travel Kitchen (https://timetravelkitchen.substack.com/p/punch-romaine : accessed 20 Apr 2026).

[8] “Granita Recipe: How to Make an Italian Granita,” MasterClass (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/granita-recipe : accessed 20 Apr 2026).

[9] “Charlotte (cake),” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_(cake) : accessed 20 Apr 2026).

[10] “Choice Wines,” Cleveland Morning Express, 31 Jan 1855, p. 4, col. 1.

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