Perhaps you were thinking of the eminent Virginian statesman Thomas J. Randolph, who advocated for emancipation in 1832:
https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/3883
The Virginia emancipation debate of the 1830s rarely consisted of extreme abolitionist views. However, some Virginians did have opinions about whether or not the institution of slavery was politically and economically necessary. Randolph suggested that the gradual emancipation plan would not hurt the state economically, as it “levies no money tax upon the people - each slave pays his own removal by his hire.”
demojeff has an agenda that isn’t square with history, reason, or reality. His stock in trade is the loaded “gotcha” that begs a misinterpretation.
You’ll get no honest answers from him.