The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1908-07-03
BLIND TOMS CHILDHOOD HOME
DOWN I'M GEORGIA.


derful initiative powers have been the
marvel of the scientific world for the
past half century, lends renewed inter
est to the scenes and incidents of his
childhood. He was born on a planta-
ton just a few miles from this city,
the son of a slave. This city has pro-
duced many notable men, and it is
rather remarkable that the native of
Columbus whose name is best known
throughout the civilized world was
born a Negro slave, almost blind, and
more than half idiotic.
Blind Tom" was one of family of
tWenty-one children, of whom only four
are now living. The survivors are a
good type of the ordinary Southern
negro, and there lis nothing about
them to indicate that they are so close
ly related to one who was endowed
with such wonderful powers. One of
them is janitor, another is a veteran
livery stable employee, and the others
hold mental positions. They haven't
a particle of musical talent; in fact.
they are not gifted in that particular
as is the average negro, for all the
music and melody of the whole family
seems to have centered in Blind
Tom"
Blind Tom" was in early years just
like any other young slave child, only
MS condition in some respects was in
finitely worse. He was almost wholly
blind, and his talk was idiotic jabber
without sense Of reason, but all that
time his wonderful brain was storing
away records of sounds and impress
siOns fully as accurate and almost as
lasting as those which are preserved
in the photograph. In the parlor of
Gen. Bethune, on whose place the boy
was raised, there was a magnificent
piano, and this was played very often
by members Of the family and visitors
who were endowed with musical tai
ent, The slave boy sat in the negro
quarters and listened to the sounds of
music that floated out on the summer
breeZes from the old Southern man
sion. While there was on his face
half idiotic leer, yet the sound rec
ords were being registered in his
brain. One day while the family was
at dinner the little boy crawled into
the parlor and climbed upon the stool
His fingers found their way to the
keys and instinctively and intuitively
ne began to play, reproducing pieces
that he had heard. The members of
the family were astonished when they
entered the parlOr and found who the
musician was.
1t was in this strange fashion that
the boyss genius became discovered
and it was not long before he was
widely known as a musical prodigy.
He was carried all over America and
Europe, and his remarkable gift was
matter Of supreme interest in both
musical and scientific circles. He re-
manned to the last the blind, half idi-
otto person that he was in childhood,
but his genius abided with him until
death came at the age of 60 years. He
could not only reproduce faultlessly
the most difficult pieces Of music from
the great composers, but could also re-
peat years afterward addresses that he
had heard delivered in foreign Ian
guages, not a word Of which he under
stood.
The great transformation that has
come over the Southern States in an
industrial way since "Blind Tom was
born in slavery in Georgia, is well il
Illustrated by the changes that have oc-
CURED in the vicinity of his old home.
A big railroad, now a part Of the
Southern Railway system, goes
through the old Bethune place. Two
or three miles away several large tex
tile industries have been established.
The birthplace of "Blind Tom" is not
more than three miles from the Chat
tahoochee River, where the Columbus
Power Company, proceeding with its
plans to develop 10000 horsepower,
has already erected one large dam and
is proceeding to build another of still
greater proportion that will develop
some 10000 horsepower. The last
years of Blind Toms aged mother
were spent in the suburbs of Column
bus, and directly facing her home is
great industrial school built by this
city as part Of its system for popular
education which has attracted national
and international attention. Columbus
was a commercial town with only
few industries and catered almost en-
tirely to the farming class at the time
"Blind Tom" came into the world, and
at the time of his death it has become
one of the greatest industrial centers,
not only in the South, but in the entire
Nation.