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Thursday, June 23, 2016

The game of "Catch and Keep" #history #virginiapioneersnet


John Yeargain
By Jeannette Holland Austin
Jeannette Holland Austin
John Yeargain, a resident of Charlottesville since about 1790, was born in a small village four miles from Hampton. From the time of his youth, he enjoyed the game of catch and keep. The object was that if anything valuable was within his grasp, he possessed it. He continued playing the game when he became an adult. As a result, he became wealthy and "sometimes boasting exhibits the first four-pence half penny that was ever in his possession." Ultimately, he shunned his neighbors and and began buying and selling whiskey, which became his primary employment. After residing in different parts of the village, he purchased a home near the court house square where he conspicuously refused to treat any one and never receives paper money. He supplied himself with water from the pump at the court house. The eccentric behavior of John Yeargain left its imprint on Charlottesville when an article appeared in the Southern Recorder, Milledgeville, Georgia, dated April 4, 1829.  For more information concerning Charlotte County Virginia people click here

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