Natalya Shelikof, wife of Grigorii Ivanovich Shelikhof, was the first white woman to live in Alaska, arriving in 1784 to the island of Kodiak where she helped her husband set up the colony and generally establish the Russian presence. Many historians say she was a founder of the Russian American Company. A remarkable woman who bore eight children, she ably supported her husband in his business affairs and expanded them after his death. She was influential in establishing schools, developing agriculture and bringing the Russian Orthodox Church to Alaska. She taught the native women about manners and cleanliness and tried, but did not succeed, in abolishing the tradition of polygamy.