 Under ownership of George Wyllys Benedict and his son George G. Benedict (owners 1853–1897), the paper was strongly and vocally opposed to slavery, which was the issue of the day.In 1868, the Free Press Association was formed and purchased the "Burlington Daily Times", a daily morning newspaper founded by former "Burlington Free Press" owner and editor DeWitt Clinton Clarke after he sold the "Burlington Free Press" in 1853 to G.W.Benedict.