THE KORESHAN UNITY MEMBERSHIP LIST by Claude J. Rahn: Gustave Damkoehler: "Born 13 Dec 1825, Blankenburg, Germany; Died 5 Sep 1905 in Juneau, Alaska.

Damkohler, Gustave; KOST 3.x series; Estero Florida 1882--"Memoirs of the First Settler" by Elwin Damkohler; Info Found: Series of letters written to various individuals in Florida State government concerning the purchase of land; Hist. Infor: Born in Berlin Germany, Damkohler came to America via Australia. He met his wife in Missouri. He and his wife and children arrived in Estero on April 3, 1882. He acted as agent for the Koreshans in purchasing lands and later on he had a falling out with the Koreshans and he sued for the return of his own land. He only received part of it back. He eventually left Estero for Missouri on May 20, 1899 (Damkohler) and then for Alaska which is where he died and was buried. His wife and four of his five children are buried along the Estero River.

Gustave Damkohler cottage located in the Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida.

MEMORIES, MEMORIES--DAYS OF LONG AGO chronicled by Marie McCready with participation by Lovelle McCready: Gustav Damkohler and family homesteaded a tract of land along the Estero river.--page 51

Mr. Damkohler/Information received by a Mr. Damkohler, a relative of Gustave, who stopped by the Ranger Station in January 1997 and spoke with Ranger Peter Hicks: "Gustave Damkohler, Born 12/13/1825 in Blankenberg, Hartz Mts, in Germany. Died Sept 18?, 1905 at age 79. He is buried in Juneau, Alaska, Grave #31 in a cemetery. Died in presence of his son--Capt. E. E. Damkohler of Ft. Myers, Florida. He was a baker and confectioner, and also a medical doctor. Got a diploma but never publicly practiced. He went to Australia and cooked in
a mining camp in Australia. He invented a fireless cooker (heat stove). He gathered a lot of orphans, educated and took care of them. He was a landscape gardener. He came to America and got married in Missouri. He came to Florida on April 3, 1883, and located in Estero."

U.S. FEDERAL CENSUS/CLAY TOWNSHIP/SHELBY COUNTY, MISSOURI--1880; Film Roll No. 737; Page: 24; SD: 5; ED: 67; Enumeration date: 21st, 23, & 28 June 1880; Enumerator: C. S. Brown; Transcribed by Joyce Nelle Ratliff: Gust. Damkohler; Color: white; Sex: male Relation to head of house: head; Age prior to June 1st: 47; Married; Occupation: Farmer; Place of birth: Germany; Place of birth of mother and father: Germany.

Damkohler, Elwin E.; Estero, Florida 1882: MEMOIRS OF THE FIRST SETTLER; Fort Myers: Island Press; KSHS--BK 099. ("February 16, 1884, about four a.m., mother died. Father had come home late that evening to find her sick. All night he tried to relieve her pain but he knew it was useless. He awakened us children to kiss her goodby. Our two-week old baby had been in mother's arms all the while she was sick."--Page 18

U.S. FEDERAL CENSUS/CLAY TOWNSHIP/SHELBY COUNTY/MISSOURI/1880; Film Roll No.: 737; Page: 24; SD: 5; ED: 67; Enumeration date: 21, 23, & 28 June 1880;; Enumerator: C. S. Brown; Transcribed by Joyce Nelle Ratliff: Alma Damkohler; Color: white; Sex: female; Sex: female; Age prior to June 1st: 27; Relationship to head of house: Wife; Married: Occupation: Keeping House; Place of birth: Germany; Place of birth of mother and father: Germany.

Maiden name of Alma Damkohler is unknown. Her marriage to Gustave Damkohler may have been her second marriage because Rudolph Crop is listed as a 6-year-old stepson of Gustave Damkohler in the 1880 Census.

MEMOIRS OF THE FIRST SETTLER, Estero, Fla 1882 by Capt. E. E. Damkohler, Estero, copyright 1967 by Elwin E. Damkohler; Library of Congress Catalog Number 67-19575--Fort Myers: Island Press--KSHS--BK 099. ("My brother was the first child born at Estero. Father named him Estero Ostego Damkohler, for that is the name of the creek and bay into which the creek flows."--Page 4) ("Our two-weeks old baby had been in mother's arms all the while she was sick."--Page 18) (("Two months later our baby brother died.*"--Page 20) *After reading Elwin Damkohler's "Memoirs of the First Settler" and researching the 1880 Census, I believe Estero Ostego Damkohler is the two-week old baby Elwin mentions.--Joyce Nelle Ratliff, Jan 1999.)

U.S. FEDERAL CENSUS/CLAY TOWNSHIP/SHELBY COUNTY/MISSOURI/1880; Film Roll No.: 737; Page: 24; SD: 5; ED: 67; Enumeration date: 21st, 23, & 28 June 1880; Enumerator: C. S. Brown; Transcribed by Joyce Nelle Ratliff: Marie Damkohler; Color: white; Sex: female; Age prior to June 1st: 2/12; : Month of birth if born in census year: March; Relationship to head of house: Daughter; Single; Place of birth: Missouri; Place of birth of mother and father: Germany.

MEMOIRS OF THE FIRST SETTLER, Estero, Fla 1882 by Capt. E. E. Damkohler, Estero, copyright 1967 by Elwin E. Damkohler; Library of Congress Catalog Number 67-19575--Fort Myers: Island Press--KSHS--BK 099. Gustave G. Damkohler, wife and four children, first settlers of Estero Creek, Florida--arrived at Punta Rassa on April 3, 1882.* *Three children, Elwin, Marie, and Rudolph Crop are listed as Gustave Damkohler's children on the 1880 Census. Evidently, Gustave and Alma had another daughter (above, unknown name) before they left Missouri and moved to Florida.