Welch was born on April 18, 1851 in the home of her uncle William Barclay Foster Jr. Her parents, Stephen Collins Foster and Jane Foster, then moved with her to her paternal grandfather's home, and a few months later they moved back to her grandparent's home [REF].
Around 1870, Welch married Walter Welsh, with whom she had three children, Maybelle Foster Reed, Matthew Wiley Welsh, and Jessie Mary Rose [REF].