Kentucky contained small but notable free black hamlets throughout the state. About 5% of Kentucky's black population was free by 1860. Free Negroes were among the slaveholders; in 1830, this group held slaves in 29 of Kentucky's counties. In some cases, people would purchase their spouse, their children, or other enslaved relatives in order to protect them until they could free them. After the 1831 Nat Turner's slave rebellion, the legislature passed new restrictions against manumission, requiring acts of the legislature to gain freedom.