Ya, the Templar thing is without evidence, but the Norse connection has been proven in places like L’Anse aux Meadows.
In fact, Virginia Dare was NOT the first European child born in America. There was one born sometime about the year 1000. Forget his name. Snorri ??
Yes, L’Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland is definitely European (about A.D. 1000). I remember reading that a Norwegian coin of later date was found by archaeologists in an Indian site in Maine, indicating continuing trips by Norsemen to the New World. They didn’t necessarily get as far as Maine—the coin could have been traded between one Indian tribe and another.