tom wiggins received a claim across the world.y some accounts he was the highest grossing musical artist of the entire 19th century. unfortunately, because of his race, and because of his disabilities, he never saw a sense of that money. that one point, a newspaper article in the new york times reported that tom had only the clothes on his back and won silver flute, which had been presented to him as a gift by one of his flute teachers in new york city. towards the end of his life, he had to stop performing after suffering a series of strokes. there are many different stories about his death and what exactly happened. the most commonly accepted version is that he passed away in hoboken, new jersey in 1908. there are two grave sites associated with tom, one in hoboken, and one your -- one near his original birth pace -- birthplace in columbus. we hope the visitors come away with a greater appreciation for the rich history and heritage and culture that columbus has had throughout his life. economically, socially culturally, and so m

family members or friends who worked to stop here we have several otter fax related to the life of tom wigginsise known as blind tom. he was born on a plantation near columbus and soon after his birth, it was discovered he was blind and mute. though the terminology referred to him as dumb, today we would probably recognize him as autistic. specifically an autistic savant will stop but tom cannot communicate in traditional ways. he had a remarkable talent for mimicry. he was able to reproduce any sound or voice he heard, nature or man-made. he also displayed a remarkable talent at an early age for music. being able to reproduce songs he heard just once on the piano despite having very little formal training will stop his owners quickly realized the remarkable child they had on their hand and had him begin giving concerts in columbus. eventually, they started touring him around the south and around the country. wiggins also wrote music. this t's here is one of his earlier pieces of sheet music. you can see right here, the blind negro boy pianist only 10 years old. we have image of him here -- he

here we have several artifacts related to the life of tom wiggins -- otherwise known as blind tom. [piano playing] he was born on a plantation near columbus and, after his birth it was discovered he was blind and mute. [piano continues] although the terminology of the time first to him as a dumb, but today recognize him as autistic -- specifically an autistic savant. he had a remarkable talent for mimicry. he was able to reproduce any sound or voice he heard in nature or man-made. [piano continues] he displayed a remarkable talent for music, being able to reproduce songs he heard just once on the pno, despite having very little formal training. his owners quickly realized the child they had on their hands and had him begin giving concerts in columbus. eventually, they toured him around the south and the country. wiggins also wrote music. this piece here is one of his earliest pieces of sheet music. you can see at the top, it says tom, the blind negro boy pianist , only 10 years old. we have an image of him here. he was most often photographed and drawn with his eyes closed. he cont

here we have several artifacts related to the life of tom wiggins, otherwise known as blind to tell me-- blind tom. soon after his birth and was discovered he was both blind and mute. though the terminology of the time referred to him as dumb today we would probably recognize him as autistic read specifically an autistic savant. tom could not communicate in traditional ways, he had a remarkable talent for mimicry. he was able to reproduce any sound or voice that he heard in nature or man-made. he also displayed a remarkable talent at an early age for music. being able to reproduce songs he heard just wants on the piano. despite having very little formal training. his owners quickly realized the remarkable child they had on their hands and had begin giving concerts in columbus. eventually they started touring him around the south in the country. he also wrote music. this piece here is one of his earliest pieces of sheet music you can see here at the top it says tom the blind negro boy pianist, only 10 years old. we have an image of him here, depicting him. he was most often photographed

one was named thomas wiggins and he became one of the most reknowned performers in the country in the late 19th century. his stage name was blind tom. he was born blind. and was what we probably now would call autistic. but he was a musical genius. he could hear a piece played on the piano one time, and then play it note for note. he composed some of his own music. that was mainly based on natural sounds like birds or thunderstorms. one of his famous pieces re-creation of a civil war battle on the piano. the sad part about blind tom's story, the family that owned him as a slave kept control of him all of his life. when the 13th amendment freed the slaves that family went to court and had tom declared mentally incompetent. so for the rest of his life, to the end of the 1900's. 1800's they toured him in europe and around the united states and they keep the proceeds from it. the other slave has a little bit happier story. his name was horace king and was the slave of a man who was in construction and was a bridge builder and he taught who are risking those skills. they really were more like partners than master and slave. in 1846 his

tom wiggins received a claim -- accla acrossim the world. because of his race and his disability, she never saw one sent of that money. at one point, under super article reported that he had only the close on his back and one silver flute, which had been presented to him as a gift by one of his flute teachers in new york city. by the end of his life, he had to stop performing after suffering a series of strokes. there are many different stories about his death and what happened. the most commonly accepted version is that he passed away and hoboken, new jersey in 1908. there are two gravesites associated with him -- what an hoboken, and one near columbus. we hope visitors come away with a greater appreciation for the rich history heritage, and culture columbus has had throughout his life economically, socially culturally, so many different facets. we want our local residents to take pride in where they are living it appreciate what has come from here and made an impact on the world. we hope visitors from out of town begin to recognize the ric