Puritans in Exile

Gabriel Westover Jr. and his wife Joanne Gifford had at least seven children. They lived at what would be considered center stage for the clashes between the Crown and the Puritans over the role of the Church of England and, specifically, of King Charles II. This Westover family, as with many other staunch Puritan families, relocated for a period of time to the Netherlands to escape the King’s tyranny. It was while they were living in the Netherlands that Gabriel and Joanne made the fateful decision to send at least two of their children to the New World.