Dr. Raymond Leo Welty was born in Hill City, Kansas, on September 1, 1894. In 1915, he completed his Bachelor of Science Degree at Fort Hays Kansas State Normal School. In 1920, he completed his Master of Arts degree at George Washington University. In 1924, he received his Ph.D. in History from Iowa State University.

In 1936, he began teaching at Fort Hays Kansas State College (later Fort Hays State University), where he taught U.S. History, American Diplomatic History, and English History. He specialized in Western U.S. History and Military History. Dr. Welty was recognized as an authority on the history of the U.S. Army base at Fort Hays. An article in the January 23, 1968, edition of the Hays Daily News described Welty as the "Keeper of the Archives of Old Fort Hays" because he "kept an authentic and running account of everything that happened one hundred years ago at the fort." Dr. Welty retired in 1963. He died in Lenexa, Kansas, on May 23, 1968, at age 74.