Ruban Wythe
Not every cemetery story is about a hero. Some are about scandal, desperation, and the way a small community could become captivated by a single family tragedy. The Wythe family of Tonawanda became front-page news in the early 1910s when a young bride named Ruth Cleveland Wythe found herself at the center of a sensational forgery case that spread from Buffalo to Tonawanda. Ruth Cleveland was still in her teens when she first appeared in the newspapers after being arrested for stealing a diamond ring from a Buffalo jewelry store. Convicted but released on probation, she soon married local roller-skating celebrity Reuben Wythe in the spring of 1911. Reuben was well known across Western New York and Pennsylvania for his speed skating races, often competing before packed roller rinks in Tonawanda, Lockport, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh. The young couple moved into the home of Reuben’s parents, William and Mrs. Wythe, on Scott Street ...