Coal Mining Fatalities
This database contains 2497 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 13 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County |
Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark | James | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 5 | Fall of stone |
| Pendergrast | John | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone |
| Clarke | John | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Fall of stone |
| Francis | Arthur J. | 1930 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Fall of stone |
| Haley | John V. | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Caught between car and timber |
| Conn | Leo | 1932 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Fall of stone |
| Boone | Adrian | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Found dead on haulageway |
| Jessoe | Alexander | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Colonial No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| Stewart | John | 1936 | Cape Breton County | Colonial | Struck by runaway trip |
| McNeil | Peter | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
| McNeil | John D. | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall caused by trip |
| Major | Joseph | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Murray | Garfield | 1939 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of coal |
| Dickson | John | 1940 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of stone |
| Finlayson | Charles | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Struck by trip |
| Briffett | Edward | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of stone |
| Forris | Stephen | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Mason | Arthur | 1944 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Struck by trap door dislodged by trip |
| Seward | Peter | 1945 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Fall of stone |
| Gallant | Joseph | 1946 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of roof |
| O'Connell | Patrick | 1948 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Explosives |
| Edwards | James | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Haulage |
| MacIsaac | John A. | 1951 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18A | Haulage |
| MacLean | John | 1953 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18 | Haulage |
| MacDonald | Robert C. | 1954 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 18 | Fall of stone |
| Paul | John | 1956 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosives |
| Mitchell | Fred | 1957 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Fall of stone |
| Thorne | Wesley | 1959 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Haulage |
| Jenkins | Robert | 1960 | Cape Breton County | Four Star | Surface haulage |
| LeBeau | John | 1963 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Maintenance |
| Currie | Michael | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Fall of stone |
| Swarttzack | Freeman | 1968 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 20 | Natural Causes |
| Legnaro | Benedict | 1971 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Natural Causes |
| Matheson | Fred | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| MacDonald | Ronald | 1984 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Fire |
| Campbell | Patrick | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of methane |
| Livingstone | Joseph | 1876 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of coal |
| MacDougall | Anthony | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Lorway | Crushed by cage |
| Stubbert | Foreman | 1884 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal |
| Cann | John | 1891 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Killed by cage when descending pit |
| Martin | John | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Piece of coal from roof |
| Hilliar | Joseph | 1898 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal from face of room |
| Gillis | John D. | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fell out of cage when descending shaft |
| Leonard | Alfred | 1900 | Cape Breton County | International | Killed getting in cage at pit bottom |
| Morrison | Alexander | 1902 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal from pillar |
| Bennett | Elijah | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fatally injured, died an hout later |
| Stubbert | Matthew | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Mis-shot exploded while he was examining it |
| Chisholm | Norman | 1905 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal from face |
| Prindle | Joe | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal from face |
| Holvia | John | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of stone |