Gustave Rieder was an industrious citizen of Gregory County, known for his significant contributions to agricultural development. Born on June 3, 1846, in Baden, Germany, he was the son of Leopold and Mary Rieder. He emigrated to America in 1863, working in New York and Philadelphia as a butcher. In 1865, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the Fifth Artillery and later in the Sixth Cavalry under General Custer and General Miles. After multiple re-enlistments, he settled near Fort Randall, South Dakota, in 1875. He farmed and operated a dairy, becoming a successful and respected community member. In 1876, he married Susan Carroll, and they had six children: Mary, Nellie, Gustave C., Lizzie, Lucy, and Susan. Rieder was active in local politics as a Republican, serving as justice of the peace and county assessor. He was also a member of the Catholic Church, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Army and Navy Union.
Gustave Rieder is one of those enterprising and industrious citizens of Gregory County who have won distinctive success in connection with the development of its agricultural resources, and he is entitled to mention in this work. Mr. Rieder is a native of the province of Baden, Germany, where he was born on the 3d of June, 1846, being a son of Leopold and Mary Rieder, to whom were born three children, the subject of this sketch being the eldest and the only representative of the immediate family in the United States. The other children are August and Fidelia. The father was a butcher by trade and vocation and both he and his wife have been deceased for a number of years, having been people of sterling character.
Gustave Rieder secured his educational training in the excellent national schools of his native land, where he was reared to the age of nineteen years, when he valiantly set forth to seek his fortunes in America, whither he came in 1863, as a stranger in a strange land. After his arrival he passed a few months in the cities of New York and Philadelphia, where he was identified with the butchering business, having learned the trade in the Fatherland. That his loyalty to the institutions of his adopted country soon became a prominent characteristic is evidenced by the fact that in 1865 he enlisted in the United States army, as a member of Company C, Fifth Artillery, with which he was stationed at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, about three years, receiving his honorable discharge in February, 1869. Soon afterward he re-enlisted, becoming a member of the Sixth Cavalry, which was assigned to duty in Texas. He was thus stationed for one year at Fort Richardson, that state, and his command was then sent to Kansas to assist General Custer in his operations against the hostile Indians. Mr. Rieder did much scouting duty in this connection and later was in active service against the Indians in various portions of the west and northwest, serving under General Miles and making an enviable record for bravery and fidelity to duty, having taken part in many spirited skirmishes and battles. Finally his command was sent to relieve the Fifth Cavalry in Arizona, and thereafter he served until the expiration of his second term, on the 20th of July, 1875, when he received his honorable discharge. His military ardor was not yet satisfied, however, and he soon afterward enlisted as a member of the First United States Infantry, with which he was stationed at Fort Randall, in what is now Gregory County, South Dakota. He was with his command in the Black Hills for one year and then returned to Fort Randall, in which vicinity he has made his home since 1875, having received his final discharge from the service in 1878. Upon the opening of the reservation, in 1897, Mr. Rieder took up a quarter section of land, having previously lived on the reservation through the special permission of the secretary of war, and for some time he here operated a dairy farm, from which he supplied Fort Randall. He has made good improvements on his farm and now has forty acres under effective cultivation, devoted principally to the raising of corn, while he has also been very successful in the raising of livestock of high grade, being one of the energetic and progressive farmers of this section. In politics Mr. Rieder is a staunch Republican, and he served two years as justice of the peace and four years as county assessor. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church, and fraternally he is identified with the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Fort Randall and also with the Army and Navy Union. He takes much interest in local affairs and has served as a school officer in addition to the positions previously mentioned. He is held in high esteem as one of the sterling pioneers of the state and as one who deserves well of the nation in whose service he made so excellent a record.
In 1876 Mr. Rieder was united in marriage to Miss Susan Carroll, daughter of John Carroll, at that time a resident of Fort Randall, and of this union have been born six children, namely: Mary and Nellie (twins), Gustave C., Lizzie, Lucy, and Susan.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.