World-known musician ‘Blind Tom’

‘Blind Tom’ Wiggins, slave pianist and autistic savant, born in Columbus, Georgia in May of 1849 became owned by Colonel Joseph Bethune, a local lawyer-journalist, when he purchased his parents, Charity and Mingo Wiggins, in 1850.

Mrs. Bethune was an aunt of Mrs. John H. Owen of Navasota and Grimes County. Mrs. Owen’s daughters were Julia and Jessica Owen who became well-known local musicians.

Maureen Chinski, in her Navasota Bluebonnet Book 1854-1954, writes about ‘Blind Tom.’ The Owens family often visited Aunt Frances Bethune with Julia and Jessica, who played with the musical wonder.

‘Blind Tom’ was born blind and considered an idiot. He was considered harmless and often played with the Bethune children. One day, hidden under the Bethune piano that Mrs. Bethune was playing, the child crawled out, and, to her amazement young Tom climbed onto the piano stool and played the same tune, note for note.

Chinski writes that “he had only to hear a piece played, no matter how intricate, and play it perfectly as he had heard it played.”

When the Civil War ended and ‘Blind Tom’ was still a child, the Bethune’s “became impoverished.” As a source of income, they took the talented boy on tour. A John Bethune, possibly a brother to Colonel Bethune, became the tour manager. Considered a savant and stimulated by rackety noises, his musical talent picked up on noise to actually create piano compositions, such as the “Battle of Manassas,” after hearing the rat-a-tat-tat of a drum and musket and cannon fire. The sheet music of “The Sewing Song” imitated the sound of a sewing machine.

Internet sources also indicate ‘Blind Tom’ could hear a speech and repeat it word for word but could only express his own needs in whines and tugs. He was a very anxious person prone to constant motion until he sat at the piano. Music seemed to be an escape.

By the age of six, internet research indicates he was selling out entertainment houses throughout Georgia. He became the first African-American musician to officially perform in the White House for President James Buchannan and a group of Washington socialites during his 1857 to 1861 term of office. He performed in the Capitol cities of Europe and appeared before Queen Victoria.

Over time, he became what could be called “the last American slave,” as he would be “brutally” locked in a hotel room between performances. Upon the sudden death of John Bethune in a railroad accident, his estranged wife, Eliza Bethune, became ‘Blind Tom’s’ owner refusing to return him to Colonel Bethune’s family.

Chinski’s comments in the Navasota Bluebonnet book state that ‘Blind Tom’ performed in Navasota at the old opera house in 1876 and again in 1895. She lists ‘Blind Tom’s’ death as 1908 in Hoboken, New Jersey. She quotes that a tribute written by Henry Watterson in the Louisville Courier Journal, stated that “he was not too well cared for.”

An internet article claims ‘Blind Tom’s’ final years were shrouded in secrecy and paranoia. In 1903, it is said he made a brief comeback on the vaudeville stage, and also that he died of a stroke in 1908. Reportedly, he was buried in a paupers grave in Booklyn’s Evergreen Cemetery, though his promoters had become wealthy from his appearances.

A book, “The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist: America’s Lost Musical Genius,” was written by Deirdre O’Connell, published by Overlook Press in 2009.

Written by Betty Dunn, Two Rivers Heritage Foundation. See www:tworiversheritagefoundation.org for more info and membership.