djplong, Jefferson inherited his slaves from his father, Peter Jefferson, and his father-in-law, John Wayles. Some of his slaves lived at Monticello and the others lived in the Virginia counties of Albemarle (outside Charlottsville) and Bedford.

There was a law on the books in Virginia that required freed slaves to leave the state within one year or face reenslavement. Thus, if Jefferson had freed his slaves he was then prohibited from rehiring them to work on the plantation as freemen.

"Efforts to rid the state of a population of free people of color numbering almost 50,000 by 1830 increased over the century. In 1833, in the wake of the Nat Turner rebellion, the governmental authorities sent a powerful message to Virginia's free blacks. They appropriated funds for colonizing freed slaves to West Africa and called for a special census in which all the free people of color in Virginia would be specifically asked about their willingness to emigrate. All 452 Albemarle County free blacks, including Joseph Fossett and Sally, Madison, and Eston Hemings, declined the offer," according to "The Getting Word Living History Project at Monticello." This is a fantastic website and project.

Jefferson did grant freedom to five of his slaves during his lifetime.

http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/biography.html

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jefflife.html

http://www.monticello.org/gettingword/manumission.html