Welensky was born in Pioneer Street, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. His father, Michael Welensky (b. "c". 1843), was of Lithuanian Jewish origin, hailing from a village near Wilno (today Vilnius); a trader in Russia and horse-smuggler during the Franco-Prussian War, he settled in Southern Rhodesia after first emigrating to the United States, where he was a saloon-keeper, and then South Africa. His mother, Leah (born Aletta Ferreira; "c". 1865–1918), was a ninth-generation Afrikaner of Dutch ancestry. His parents, for whom Raphael or "Roy" was the thirteenth child, kept a "poor White" boarding house. Welensky's mother died when he was eleven years old, being treated by Godfrey Huggins, a doctor who went on to become the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Although not of British ancestry, Welensky was intensely pro-British, a distinctive sentiment among Rhodesians. John Connell, in his foreword to Welensky's book "4000 Days", wrote: "Welensky, who had not a drop of British blood in his veins, shared this pride and loyalty Britain to the full."