"Be you well, John?"
"Yes, Papa, my finger pinched under the awl"
"Give God the glory, and be ye thankful thy finger still sits upon thy hand"
"Yes, Papa."
It is 1651, Boston, Massachusetts. Thomas Butolf is working with his son, John, in the leatherworking shop owned by Thomas. Thomas carefully and patiently instructs John in the making of fine leather goods for gentlemen; the goat leather is imported from Cordoba, Spain, and is rather fragile so great care must be taken not to bruise the fine goatskin. John takes the instruction well and is on his way to become an excellent cordwainer himself, at 13 years of age, John is taking on the responsibilities of a man and expected to take over the family business in a few short years, should he decide to follow his father in this venture. John has many options to explore at this point; his uncles, John Greene and Robert Harding, each own several ships, and trade goods in several ports in the New World as well as overseas in places such as London, the West Indies, the northern areas for seal skins, and occasionally China, for fine silks and exotic teas. And, of course, Cordoba, Spain, for the luxuious goat leathers for Papa's business.
But for now, John is concentrating on cutting the leather carefully to match the pattern for the gloves being made for the Rev. Mr. Cotton. John also has many questions and between cuttings is a good time to ask Papa.
"Papa, eve of last, Grandmama wept as she sewed upon her garment, why be she sad now?"
"Word has come us from London, Grandmama's brother, William, died in the Tower of a fever, awaiting the axe"
"Papa, why had Great-Uncle William not come to the New World with us?"
"William besought to persuade King Charles of purging the Church of England of the foul corruption amid the church fathers and the crown, but to his misfurtune, our cousin, Thomas Butolf, the king's Chaplain, gave more loyalty to his master than to his cousin, betraying him to Lord Chancellor"
"Papa, need we fear King Charles?"
"Nay, my son, for the moment we live free in this wilderness land, but our safety and salvation lay in Almighty God, and our worship of the self-same Person, Jesus Christ, Who is the very breath of our being. We will speak further upon this subject when the pieces are sewn. For now, give God the glory, and work thy hands in manner pleasing our Savior."

This scene was taken from facts in the original records and writings of New England, except for Uncle William, who represented many who sought to purify the church in England, and many who lost their lives for desiring to worship God as they thought honoring to God, and not to the forced and ritualistic manner of the church, which had become a mere political organization. A Thomas Butolf(Buttolph) was a Chaplain to King Charles at this time, but relation to our Thomas Butolf is not known at this time.