The biography written of him in Progressive Men of Montana tells: "In 1881, at the age of twenty five he went to Denver, Colorado where his first employment was that of a helper in a machine shop for a year. Subsequently he went to Salt Lake City, engaged in the livery business and also worked in a smelter.During his trip from Denver to Salt Lake they had to ford the Platte river, then overflowing its banks. The party lost everything except the teams and wagons, and were forced to sleep without blankets on the bare ground. The rest of the way, 200 miles, was traversed afoot.Mr. Yoder went from Salt Lake to Blackfoot, Idaho, where for six months he was employed in railroad work and in the spring of 1883 he came to Glendale, Montana and then to the Sheep Mountains, where for several months he prospected and worked in various wood camps. Coming to Butte, for ten months he was employed in the grocery of Alexander Cohen.Following this he was employed in the grocery of York and Anderson and was then with John Stanley and he then engaged in the loan business with J. M. Albiez as his partner. In 1895 he was elected treasurer of Butte, and served two years.During the 1890s Mr. Yoder was interested in mining operations and in 1900 made a trip to Cape Nome, Alaska. Being a steadfast Republican, he had continued h is political activity, and while away in Alaska he was nominated for Montana secretary of state, but defeated by a very small margin at the polls during a Democrat landslide. In November 1904, Abraham was first elected secretary of state, taking office in January 1905. He was subsequently reelected for three successive terms. The announcement in the "Butte Miner" indicated that at the time of his sudden death in Helena, Dec. 7, 1911, a boom had just been launched propelling him for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1912.The "Anaconda Standard" mentioned his close personal friendships with former U.S. Senator Lee Mantle and many prominent businessmen.. many of whom had been active on his behalf in a preliminary gubernatorial effort and maintained that "It was confidently expected he would land the Republican nomination." The "Montana Daily Record" carried tributes from Governor E.L. Norris and other dignitaries.State Auditor Cunningham said "In all my experience in public affairs, I have never met a man who was so intensely loyal to his concept of duty .I have never known a man who I regarded as so steadfastly honest, especially with regard to the little things which many of us, regarding them as of minor importance, sometimes do not like to hear about ." Abraham left a wife, but no children. Testament is born him however by a memorial plaque in the "new" wing of the Montana State Capital building in Helena which was completed in 1912.