Coal Mining Fatalities
This database contains 2498 known Nova Scotia coal mining fatalities. Names, dates, places, mines, and causes of death have been painstakingly compiled. Despite this, it is by no means a complete list. Fatalities occurred before records were kept; descriptions of incidents and those involved were lost along with coal company records. Official recording of multiple deaths may have missed some names; in some cases, names are misspelled. However, this is likely the most complete list that exists. Please contact us if you know names to add.
Displaying page 1 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County |
Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currie | Angus | 1868 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of coal |
| McLean | Joseph | 1873 | Cape Breton County | International | Crushed by train |
| McNeil | Roderick | 1878 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Methane explosion; 1 of 6 killed |
| MacKinnon | Neil | 1888 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Run over by trip |
| McCormick | Vin | 1893 | Cape Breton County | International | Fall of roof coal at face; also recorded as 1894 |
| McKinnon | Hector | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Hub | Fall of coal from pillar |
| Martin | Donald | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Afterdamp from methane explosion; 1 of 11 killed |
| McKinnon | John | 1900 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Killed by falling roof stone while driving |
| McDonald | Daniel | 1901 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Killed by shot going off while firing squib |
| Cantfill | Arthur | 1892 | Cape Breton County | Victoria; possibly Cumberland Co. | Crushed by a runaway box down balance, died 2 days later |
| McNeil | John A. | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Run over by loaded box |
| McKinnon | Mick | 1904 | Cape Breton County | International | Fall of stone from roof |
| Sellars | Nich | 1905 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of stone from roof |
| Reddick | Robert, Sr. | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Killed while mining, a shot blew down on him |
| McNeil | Roderick | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by empty trip |
| Dumphy | James | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of coal from face |
| McIntosh | Dan | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Sydney & Louisburg Railway (Mine)? | Killed by express train, Glace Bay Crossing |
| Steineff | Audrey | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Ross | Curtis | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Live wire |
| Groves | Frank | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Shot blew through on slant containing water, partly driven between main slope, drowned; 1 of 2 killed |
| Stewart | Wilkie | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery; Nova Scotia Steel & Coal | Tally boy, age 14; jammed between tub and tipple at pit head |
| McPhee | Thomas | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Jammed between box and roof, died a few hours later |
| Neal | John | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines No. 2 (Lloyd's Cove) | Struck by runaway box |
| Foster | John A. | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines No. 3 (Florence) | Fall of stone |
| McLean | Edward | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Fall of stone |
| Campbell | James | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 7 | Fall of stone |
| Leemore | Ferdinand | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Fall of stone |
| Gouthro | Servine | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 5 | Fall of stone |
| Ramsay | William | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Fall of roof |
| Campbell | M. S. | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of coal |
| Theriault | Wilfred | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Killed by shot blowing through pillar |
| Collins | ingraham | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of stone |
| Curry | Michael | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| McDonald | Thomas | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| O'Leary | Michael | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| Whalen | John R. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| McPherson | Moses | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Spencer | George | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Run over by horse and loaded box |
| Bonner | Alexander | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of coal; 1 of 2 killed |
| Boutilier | John | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone caused by runaway boxes |
| Campbell | Ronald | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by horse-hauled mine car |
| Seldon | George | 1923 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone from roof in room |
| Pace | Alexander W. | 1925 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | Lewis | 1926 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Fall of stone |
| Penny | Charles J. | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of stone |
| McDougall | John J. | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Hit by a small stone |
| Stephens | Wendall | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion 1A | Caught in conveyor in boiler room |
| Gillespie | James | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of stone |
| Snow | William | 1930 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck head on roof when box jumped track |
| Hussey | John | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal and roof |