 Akelaitis was born in near Marijampolė to a family of peasants.His father participated in the Uprising of 1831 and was sentenced to exile in Siberia where he died.Akelaitis' stepgrandfather fought in the Battle of Maciejowice during the Kościuszko Uprising while his grandfather's brother served in the Polish Legions in Italy and fought in the Battle of Somosierra in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars.