Doctor Abraham Rudolph Gonce: Missouri Pioneer

Possibly the most interesting descendant of Justice and Magdalen Gonce, the ancestors of virtually all Gonces in the United States today, was Abraham Rudolph Gonce. “Doc” Gonce was not only a medical practitioner and Missouri pioneer, but at various times was a public servant, bootlegger, and murderer. He married at least four times (including a pair of concurrent marriages that resulted in a prison term for bigamy) and had at least seventeen children. He is most infamous for the murder of his town's postmaster, for which he served another term in the Missouri Penitentiary. In addition to full transcripts of Doc's trials for bigamy and murder, this book also documents the outlaw activities and sometimes tragic stories surrounding a few of “Doc’s” Gonce descendants that continued well into the twentieth century – a burglary committed by two of “Doc’s” great-great grandsons was even featured on the popular television show “America’s Most Wanted.”