Civil War

During the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army in the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, beginning April 19, 1862. He rose to the rank of lieutenant and served until the end of the war. After the war, he studied medicine and practiced in Bluffton, Ohio, where he served as mayor from 1868 to 1878.

Political career

Yoder moved to Lima, Ohio, in 1878, and began to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and commenced practice in Lima. He served as member of the Democratic State executive committee from 1883 to 1885, and as judge of the probate court of Allen County from February 1882 to October 1886, when he resigned, having been elected to Congress.

Yoder was elected as a Democrat to the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890.

Later career and death

He served as Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives from December 8, 1891, to August 7, 1893. He continued the practice of law and also engaged in the real estate business in Washington, D.C., until his death. He is interred in Arlington National Cemetery.