 For three years after John Emerson's death, she continued to lease out the Scotts as hired slaves.In 1846, Scott attempted to purchase his and his family's freedom, but Irene Emerson refused, prompting Scott to resort to legal recourse.Having been unsuccessful in his attempt to purchase freedom for his family and himself, Scott, with the help of abolitionist legal advisers, sued Emerson for his freedom in a Missouri court in 1846.