Nikolai Rezanov
In 1806 Nikolai Rezanov arrived in California, then a part of New Spain, to get provisioning for Russian settlements in Alaska. Maria fell in love with Rezanov and they got engaged. To marry Maria, a Catholic, Rezanov had to obtain the Emperor's permission. He also had to sail back to Alaska. On his way back to Saint Petersburg he fell ill and died in Krasnoyarsk in 1807 at the age of 43. A year later, Alexander Andreyevich Baranov told Maria the news, but she would not believe it until 1842 when Sir George Simpson gave her a detailed account of Rezanov's death. She took a vow of silence and lived in a monastery in Monterey, California until her death in 1857.