Cornelia Horsford facts for kids

Cornelia Horsford (1861–1944) was an American archaeologist and writer. She was very interested in whether the Norse people (like the Vikings) had settled in North America a long time ago. She especially looked for their traces in Massachusetts. Her work built on the research her father, Eben Norton Horsford, had started.

About Cornelia Horsford

Early Life and Family

Cornelia "Nellie" Conway Felton Horsford was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was on September 25, 1861. Her father, Eben Norton Horsford, was a chemist and also an amateur archaeologist. Her mother was Phoebe Gardiner Horsford. Cornelia grew up in a historic home called Sylvester Manor. She went to private schools in Cambridge and Boston.

Continuing Her Father's Research

Cornelia's father made a lot of money by improving baking powder. He spent much of this money trying to prove that the Viking explorer Leif Erikson had settled near the Charles River in Massachusetts. Before he passed away in 1893, he asked Cornelia to continue his work.

She kept digging in an area of Cambridge called Gerry's Landing. There, she found the remains of a large house. She believed this house belonged to Thorfinn Karlsefni, who followed Leif Erikson. In 1898, she gave her first talk about this at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She had become a Fellow of this society a year earlier.

Cornelia also spent time editing and publishing her father's writings. One important work was Leif's House in Vinland. She published it as a book, along with her own essay called “Graves of the North Men”.

Exploring Norse Settlements

Cornelia Horsford organized several archaeological trips overseas. She went to Iceland in 1895 and to Britain multiple times (1895, 1896, and 1897). Later, she started looking for old Norse settlements in North America. She wanted to find places similar to those already known in Iceland and Greenland.

She wrote two books and many articles about Norse explorers in North America. These articles appeared in popular magazines like Popular Science Monthly and National Geographic.

Challenges and Discoveries

Like some other writers at the time, Cornelia sometimes made big guesses from the little evidence she had. For example, she thought that the Huron and Iroquois peoples might be partly descended from Norse settlers.

However, over time, not enough strong artifacts were found to support the idea that Norse explorers had settled along the Charles River. This theory became less and less likely during Cornelia's lifetime. Serious scholars began looking for Norse traces in other parts of North America.

Memberships and Legacy

Cornelia Horsford was a member of several historical societies. These included the Icelandic Antiquarian Society and the Colonial Dames of Massachusetts. She was also active in the AAAS for twenty years. She served on its General Committee from 1905 to 1907.