TO M Y WI F E E L L E N WHO MADE POSSIBLE THE E$ I STE N C E OF THE S T AT UE O F THORFINN KARLSEFN I THROUGH HER BEQUEST TO THE FAIRMOUNT PARK ART ASSOCIATION CHRO N OL OGY A SHORT CHRONOLOGY or THORFINN K ARLSE F N I ’ Copied from Hawk s book. ho ne- a a a . Gat r Tr nsl ted by G M H rdy, was a man a Thord who Hofda There n med , lived in Hofdastrand . a F rid erda a in He m rried g , d ughter of - H ma and F rid e rda a of K a val Thori y of g , d ughter J r , hor wa a B K ing of the Irish . T d s son of BJorn yrdus va -Hr A sl eick of mor, son of Thor ld ygg, son of , son - - - B o ofR a uar a ec . Jorn Ir nside, son g Sh ggy Bre hes They - had a a Snorri. a R son c lled He m rried Thorhild ype, w h rd a daughter of Thord Gelli . Their son as T o a and had a a e Thorfinn K arl sefni Horsehe d he son c ll d , who at R e nisness Ska af ord as lived in the north y in g j , k l now a . c K ar sefni it is c lled Besides being of good sto , ’ a w hor nn . was a wealthy man . His mother s n me as T u was a and had a a He in the cruising tr de, good reput tion as a sailor . F O REWO RD The old theory of firc at wherever there was was flame - a a smoke, there very ptly is illustr tive of controversies regarding the discovery and settlement of continents . a a Thorfinn K arlsefni In the c se of the Icel nder, , this controversy is very prominent . Almost every historian who has written a history of has a the Western Hemisphere, stumbled over Norse man or an Icelander who in some way reached this Hemisphere . ’ a D is ci ler I nsul arum In Ad m of Bremen s Book , p ” A ual onis in 1 595 . q , published ’ In John Fiske s history called The Discovery of ” America . ’ In Professor William Hovgaard s romance of The ” Voyages of the Norsemen to America . And the definition given about Vinland in the latest edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica . “ c And, quite re ently, The Norse Discoveries of — ” a a a . Gathorne America The Vinel nd S g s, by G . M a H rdy, All mention Leif E ricsson and Thorfinn K arl sefni a as the earliest discoverers of Americ . t d es s e s be xac ca io The unset le qu tion e m to , the e t lo t n 1 FOREWORD i a r a a d . n where they l nde This, turn , re ches f om C pe Cod a and a a a to Long Isl nd Sound , n mes the l nd Vinl nd and a ca a v e u w Winel nd, be use gr pe in s were fo nd gro ing w the on the mainland . If these historians ould study ocean currents which Hovgaard and Hardy have done in a a a wa th a a r c su l y, ey would h ve found sort of Northe n Gulf Stream w—hich for ages drifted close to the Massa chusetts shore piling up driftwood which came from a a as nd the Arctic S ea. Sm ll bo ts such the Norsemen a Icelanders used were undoubtedly carried by this cur a as o and can rent, the s me the driftw od , we only con ecture a n j where they l nded , for nothi g is left to tell the ’ Thorfinn s a . t story , except in c se Providing the s ory of the Fletcher stone can be verified . The word settler had a Th rfi something to do with my choice, lso , for o nn did settle where he landed and remained some two years u a a . nor ntil driven out by s v ges Also , his child S ri was o n a born during his s jour in Americ , which undoubtedly was the first white child born in this country . — I have no misgivings over my choice quite to the a a i a contr ry , for every l test history of Amer c seems to horfinn K arl ni confirm the story of T sef . Thorfinn— a J u I chose for the sculptor of Ein r o sson , a native of Iceland . And he certainly has modelled a a — n typic l Viking being descended from the Viki gs . I hope my readers will agree with me that I have not erred in their conviction . THO RFI N N KAR LSEF N 1 Why THORFIN N K A RLSE F N I was chosen to represent The First Settler in the Western Hemisphere And the remarkable bequest made by my wife for Statuary Emblematical of the settlement of our great C o untrv . THE REQ U E ST . I give and bequeath to my husband all the residue and a a a and o a rem inder of my est te, re l pers n l , of every kind r a a and a t a for the te m of his n tur l life , f er his de th , I i and a a m give, dev se beque th the s me to the Com issioners a a of F irmount P rk , to spend the income thereof in the following manner . According to the official map issued by the Park a a a 2000 Commissioners , there is sp ce of Two Thous nd ( ) feet commencing from the Beacon Light or last boat n house to the Girard Avenue Bridge . O the edge of this ground bordered by the Schuylkill R iver is a stone bulk a t a head . On top of this emb nkmen it is my will to h ve d at a 1 00 a a erecte dist nces of one hundred ( ) feet p rt , on a a r a and a high gr nite pedest ls of unifo m sh pe size, st tu ar a a a y emblem tic of the History of Americ , r nging in time from the earliest settler of America to the present E ra a a d in a a , rr nge chronologic l order, the e rliest period 9 THORFINN KARL S E F N I at and i at the South end , going on to the present t me the North end $ w all a are a And hen the st tues in pl ce, the income to be spent in buying Statuary and Fountains to decorate the Park according to the judgm ent of the Commissioners . t n a a In get ing desig s for the St tues, it is my desire th t notices be in serted in the leading newspapers of the a n for and ff n a world, ski g designs , o eri g to p y expenses ’ n and a ofi er an for sendi g returning the s me, but not to y c a the c all spe i l premium , one hosen to receive the money ff o ered in the proposal . I nominate and appoint my husband Joseph B unford S amuel to be the Executor of this my last will and testa and l a ment Trustee for a l purposes n med herein . D CO ICIL . l i a and a and I , E len Ph llips S muel, revoke m ke null void my appointment of the Fairmount Park Commis and a n a sion to be Trustee of my Bequest , ppoint i ste d The Fairmount Park Art Association to receive and administer said Bequest in the manner described in the body of my will . THE ADJ U DICATION OF W I LL BY JU DGE GEST D ec . 9 1 91 4 . filed , The foregoing provisions of the will constituted h B unford a a a and Josep S muel test ment ry trustee, not a and merely life ten nt , consequently under the Act of 1 0 THORFINN KARLS E F N I M a 1 7 1 87 1 . 1 1 33 a Assembly of y , , Stew Purd , the leg cy in remainder to the Fairmount Park Art Association is a not legally taxable until the death of Mr . S muel $ he has however as Executor paid the Tax on the remainder n and a and n t i terest, the se led cou tersigned receip there for in the sum of w as produced to the Audit in tax 67 a t g Judge, being on $ fter the deduc ion of the life estate appraised at Counsel for the Fairmount Park Art Association ex ’ a a a i pressed his appreciation Of Mr . S muel s m gn n mous ” action in this as in other matters concerning the bequest . The usual commission p aid to executors was also omitted . 1 4 1 91 3 . November , Acceptance of the bequest by the Fairmount Park Art Association . R ES VE D a the a a OL , th t Bo rd of Trustees of the F ir mount Park Art Association has received with much m nifi en a a t u c t .