More Recent Chinatown History
from the VillagerPreserving Chinatown’s doo-wop era The web site of Lonnie's Coffee Shop
The story of Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins, former slave and musical genius
Thomas Greene Wiggins (1849-1908) was a former slave and indentured servant who began playing piano by the age of four and became one of the most celebrated musicians of the Civil War era.Thomas was born autistic and without sight on May 25, 1849 to Mungo and Charity Wiggins, two Georgia plantation slaves owned by Wiley Edward Jones. His family was sold soon after to Colonel James Neil Bethune, and Tom...