 A talented musician, he taught music and at the age of 16 was appointed music master at the Tennessee School for the Blind and later went on to become musical director at the Wisconsin School for the Blind.He also taught at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.It was while he was teaching at Wisconsin that his anti-slavery views became publicly known and at one point he was given twenty four hours to renounce them or face being hanged.