Afton was born May 17, 1893, the 10th of 13 children, eight girls and five boys. Afton’s father came to Wyoming in 1887 in a covered wagon with five children and a wife. After settling and starting a ranch eight more children were born to this union.
At a very young age when he could carry feed buckets and help feed hay, Afton became a working member of the operation. When he was 11 years old his dad had a horse sale on the ranch where they sold 150 horses that he had put together after arriving from Missouri. Afton’s father had a great eye for a good horse and he passed that love down to all of his children. Afton’s father passed in 1910 leaving the four younger boys to help their mother continue to carry on their father’s dream.
In 1914 Afton was called to duty, as many men were, to fight in WWI. After his return he went to work for C.B. Irwin on the ranch on Horse Creek in Laramie County. He helped with the production of his Wild West Show and rodeo business. Afton married Nellie Wynema 1923 and returned to the ranch in 1926.
There he worked with his mother building a beautiful herd of Hereford cattle and continuing on with the herd of beautiful horses. In 1936, he and his mother shipped their calves, as they did every year, on the rail to Omaha, Nebraska, to Berigan Brothers where they topped the market many years in a row. Afton would always ride with the cattle in the rail car to keep them standing and content.
In 1940, Afton purchased his first of many registered Quarter Horses. At that time there were estimated to be around 40 registered horses in the state of Wyoming. He continued to build his herd of highly sought after registered horses. “Trigger,” a Palamino Stud, was his pride and joy. The Green Ranch became the home for the “Tippy” horses and also the home of “Darks Wimpy.” He used his horses for all facets of ranch work and just loved to sit in the corral and admire them.
Afton’s mother left the ranch in his capable hands in 1946 and died in 1948. At that time Afton purchased the ranch from his remaining siblings and continued to run a successful operation.
Afton died in August of 1965 leaving behind a legacy of registered Quarter Horses and beautiful commercial Hereford cattle to his wife and three children.