Baldwin continued the business together until 1845.

When Mr. Weddell commenced his mercantile life it was no child's play.
At that time there were no canals or railroads to facilitate
commerce--scarcely were there any roads at all--specie was the only
currency west of the mountains, and that had to be carried across the
mountains from Pittsburgh on the backs of mules, and the merchandise
returned in the same way. Long after, when traveling over the
Alleghanies with a friend, Mr. Weddell frequently pointed to places on
the road which he remembered, and of which he related interesting
anecdotes. Several merchants would travel together and sometimes they
would have guards, as the lonely uninhabited mountains were not
altogether safe even in those days.

In 1823, Mr. Weddell built what was regarded as a princely brick residence
and store on the corner of Superior and Bank streets, afterwards the site
of the Weddell House. His surplus funds were invested in real estate,
which soon began to increase in value at an astonishing rate, as the city
grew in population and importance. On one of his lots upon Euclid street
he built the stone cottage which he designed as a country retreat, and
after his taking his clerks into partnership, he left the store mainly to
their management, devoting his attention to the purchase and improvement
of real estate, being generally regarded as a gentleman of wealth.

In the Spring of 1845 he began work upon the Weddell House, tearing away
the store and mansion, where his fortune had been made. It was finished in
two years. He then made a journey to New York to purchase furniture. On
the way home he was attacked by typhoid fever, and in three weeks was in
his grave.