Thomas Bethune

Born Thomas Greene Wiggins, the blind son of two slaves owned by Colonel James Bethune, “Blind Tom” became famous as a musical savant at a young age. Bethune presented Wiggins throughout Georgia before hiring him out to tour across the country. Wiggins played for President James Buchanan in 1860; the Bethunes also offered his talents to the Confederacy during the Civil War. After emancipation, Bethune convinced Wiggins’s parents to appoint him Tom’s legal guardian. Wiggins earned a fortune for his guardians and remained under the care of Bethune family members for the rest of his life.