In January 1833 Meredith issued the first number of the monthly
Baptist Interpreter, and two years later replaced it by the weekly
Biblical Recorder. In 1838 Meredith resigned as pastor of his church in New Bern and moved to
Raleigh to work full-time for the Recorder. Despite poor health and lack of money, Meredith persevered, writing clear and principled editorials on issues of the day. Although a native Pennsylvanian, Meredith adapted to his adopted region as a slave owner for most of his adult life, a fact he never revealed in his public writing. While silent on his ownership of slaves, Meredith wrote forcefully against the abolition movement and published a pamphlet supporting slavery in 1847. In his pamphlet Meredith argued "that slaveholding is, per se, wholly inoffensive; that the relation of master and slave is as accordant with the general precepts of the gospel, as that of parent and child, or of husband and wife; and that, therefore, all charges of a criminal nature founded on this relation, and alleged against Southern Christians, are unreasonable and unjust.” Beyond slavery Meredith also weighed in on "
Campbellism", which threatened to cause a split in the Baptist movement, temperance, and the troubled relationship with the
Triennial Convention. At that time, many Baptist preachers had limited formal education. Religious periodicals such as the Recorder were of great importance to pastors in furthering their theological education and staying connected to other Baptists. Meredith often published multi-issue expositions of key doctrines or defenses of traditional evangelical theological convictions, always providing a rigorously orthodox view. Thomas Meredith died on 13 November 1850 in Raleigh. In 1898, Dr. Thomas E. Skinner, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Raleigh, said "The Rev. Thomas Meredith was undoubtedly the ablest man who has yet appeared among us". ==See also==