REGINA — A Regina road is set to be renamed in honour of one of Saskatchewan’s first Black settler families.
The city is planning to rename the Regina portion of Armour Road to Lafayette Road, honouring the Lafayette family, who first came to Saskatchewan in 1900.
“My grandfather came in 1906 to Regina. He thought he had sent money for property; however, when he arrived, no one was aware of any money having arrived here. So he travelled for the next few years out to the Rosetown area to begin homesteading,” said Carol LaFayette-Boyd.
LaFayette-Boyd later found documented proof of her ancestors’ arrival through a court case from 1907.
After learning more about their family’s history in the province, LaFayette-Boyd’s brother requested through a committee process that a Regina road be renamed in the family’s honour. The request was eventually approved.
The entire family recently gathered outside the city for a reunion to celebrate the renaming.
“We had a lot of pride and excitement from everyone. So many of them tried to get here to be here for it, for the groundbreaking ceremony.”
The LaFayette family has since expanded across Canada, but the origins of its last name date back to the British-American War.
“There is a story about my ancestor, James LaFayette, who was a slave and a double spy during the war. He had worked with British General Cornwallis, who told him that ships were coming in. He took that information to General LaFayette, and they were able to destroy the ships and ultimately win the war.”
After the war, James returned to slavery, but General LaFayette advocated for his freedom.
“Virginia paid his master three hundred dollars for his freedom, and he took the last name of LaFayette.”
There is still some uncertainty surrounding the connection between James and LaFayette-Boyd’s great-grandfather.
“When my great-grandfather, Edward, passed away, my grandfather was supposed to record the names of his parents. Instead, he wrote the names of Edward and his wife.”
However, the family believes a relative named Ferry, who lived in the United States, may have had a connection to James.
Hearing about her family’s struggles, LaFayette-Boyd said their last name represents resilience.
“On my mom’s side, my uncles served in the No. 2 Battalion, which was made up of people of African descent from Barbados, the United States and Canada who weren’t initially allowed to join the army. Their resilience and their decision to come to Canada and accomplish all that they did are quite amazing to me.”
LaFayette-Boyd is hopeful the next generation of her family will continue researching their ancestry.
“My youngest granddaughter, she’s talking about taking over the family ancestry and the tree from me. It was really quite exciting for people to be interested in this. This is our legacy, and looking at Lafayette Road will remind them of that legacy.”
It remains unclear when Armour Road will be renamed, but LaFayette-Boyd hopes her family can purchase a piece of land where the building stands.
