Obituary:
On Dec. 12th (1883) near Sharon Center, Johnson Co., Iowa, of cancer. Bishop Abner Yoder, aged 69 years, 8 months, and 14 days. He was sorely afflicted, yet he endured his suffering with Christian resignation. Buried on the 13th, when a large concourse of sympathizing neighbors and friends were present. Funeral services were conducted by C. Miller and F. Swartzendruber. Herald of Truth Feb 1884

Bio:
Extracted from an article by David Luthy, the Yoder Newsletter, April 1989
Abner Yoder was born March 28, 1814 in the now-extinct Amish settlement known as the Glades near Berlin in Somerset County Pennsylvania. He was the 11th of 13 children born to John and Barbara (Yoder) Yoder and the grandson of Somerset County's first resident Amish Bishop, "Schweitzer" Christian Yoder (1728-1816). Abner married Veronica Schrock in 1840. A family of 12 children (6 sons and 6 daughters) was born to them. In 1843 he was ordained a minister and in 1848 he became the settlement's third and final Bishop. He moved in 1866 to a farm near Sharon Center, Johnson County, Iowa in the heart of the Amish settlement founded 20 years earlier.
Very little is known about the church life of the "Glades." One probable reason for the westward migration of some of its families and its Bishop was "the low moral life of the young people." No records or old letters have been discovered which shed any light on congregational tensions or on Abner Yoder's tenure as the settlement's last Bishop. A few written records do indicate his activity elsewhere.
In July 1853, Abner wrote a 7 page preface ("Vorwort") for a collection of admonitory writings by a deceased Amish minister. Alexander Stutzman, a lawyer of Somerset, PA, published the 336 page volume entitled "Ermahnungen von George Jutzi in Stark County, Ohio an seine Hinterbliebenen" in 1853.
Beginning in 1862, ordained Amish brethren assembled for 16 annual nationwide ministers' meetings ("DienerVersammlungen") in an attempt to unify the faith and discipline of the various congregations in the United States and Canada. Abner attended 4 of the first 5 meetings--1862,1863,1865,1866.
The first meeting was held June 8-12,1862 in Wayne County, Ohio with 72 ordained Amishmen in attendance. The third day began with prayer by Abner Yoder, apparently Chairman of a committee to examine the role of fulltime deacons. He suggested a rule of a probationary period to determine the spiritual gift a deacon should possess. Discussion also concerned "Meidung" (shunning). It was Abner's opinion that it should be upheld in daily affairs, not just at communion.
One of the discussions concerned the use of musical instruments and it was Abner's opinion that they are "found among the children of men but not with the children of God." In reading the minutes of the first nationwide "Diener-Versammiung," one cannot help but notice that Abner Yoder was a prominent figure. And his role did not diminish the next spring when 42 ordained Amishmen gathered for the second annual meeting May 25-27, 1863 at Belleville, Pennsylvania. Abner was nominated and unanimously elected to serve as chairman of the entire three-day assembly.
Matters covered in this second gathering included age of baptism, holding public office, and taking of photographs. Abner, while vocal in his views, did not attract the majority opinion. It appeared that Jonathan Yoder of McLean County, Illinois had been in command of the discussions. Jonathan was later to investigate a problem within the Johnson County, Iowa congregation. In the mode of the Schwartzendrubers, who were not "change-minded" in the Iowa settlement, Abner attended no meetings after 1866. The Johnson County ministry withdrew from the "DienerVersammlungen" and formed three regional Amish-Mennonite conferences.
Abner Yoder was highly regarded as a Bishop and as a gifted penman. Samples of his beautiful Fraktur penmanship date from 1866 and have been found in Kansas, Iowa and Illinois. One from 1879 is in the Mennonite Archives in Kalona (donated by the contributor of this memorial, a great-great-granddaughter). The Illinois Fraktur is now in the Heritage Historical Library of Aylmer, Ontario.
Another paper has this saying, written in red ink: "My face you here may never see/ If you're a Christian pray for me/ In grace and knowledge let us grow/ In piety our likeness show/Abner Yoder. " On the other side is his name, address, date (Aug. 21, 1882) and the words "The grass is green/ the rose is red/ my name is here when I am dead." And so, indeed, it is. Abner Yoder died less than a year and a half later on December 12, 1883.