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 28 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County |
Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillis | Henry | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Crushed between trip and rubbing rail |
| Oliver | William | 1944 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Struck by trip |
| Luscombe | Edmund Clarence | 1945 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Caught between box and timber |
| Peddle | Arthur | 1946 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
| Ransome | James H. | 1949 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Doboi | Andrew | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
| Blake | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| O'Handley | Malcolm | 1954 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Gas asphixiation; 1 of 2 killed |
| Roach | John | 1955 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Young | John A. | 1956 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of timber |
| Martel | James | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Construction |
| McLean | Wilmont | 1959 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
| Boutilier | Ben | 1960 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Fall of stone |
| Boozan | Leo | 1963 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage |
| MacLean | John J. | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage: Hit by an empty trip |
| Stoker | Matthew | 1968 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Natural Causes |
| Matheson | James E. | 1971 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Haulage: Struck by a trip of material |
| Sharpe | Clifford | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| Gallant | Sheldon | 1988 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Hit on head |
| White | Morris | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of methane |
| MacIver | Norman | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of roof coal |
| McCormack | Angus | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Fall of stone |
| Morrison | Daniel | 1886 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Run over by tub due to broken rope |
| Josso | John | 1891 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Fall of coal in room |
| McKinnon | Alexander | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| McDonald | John | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Caught between full trip and prop |
| Evans | George | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal from face of room |
| Jameson | Hector | 1900 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal whilst drawing pillars; 1 of 2 killed |
| McPherson | D.J. | 1901 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Killed while examining shaft on top of cage when cage in motion |
| McGowan | Harry | 1902 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery; Nova Scotia Steel & Coal | Fall of stone from roof |
| Nicholson | Norman | 1904 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Broken back, died 11 weeks later |
| Fitzgerald | Laurence | 1905 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone from roof |
| Ireland | Dan | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Struck by box |
| Wilson | Nelson | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Killed on surface by haulage rope used to convey cars under screens |
| Nicholson | J.W. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Struck by runaway box down main slope; 1 of 3 killed |
| Morgan | Frank | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 8 | Killed by live wire |
| Osterfishok | Simon | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of coal from face |
| McDonald | Ronald | 1909 | Cape Breton County | North Atlantic Collieries | Crushed between full box and engine |
| McDonald | M. | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone |
| Riciselts | Vincent | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Scotia (possibly Cumberland Co.) | Fall of stone |
| Hennessey | Joseph | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone, leg injured |
| Ferguson | Archie F. | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines No. 3 (Florence) | Methane explosion and coal dust; 1 of 8 killed |
| Cauffery | Albert | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Premature shot |
| Shoder | Martin | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of roof |
| Andrews | Wilfred | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Fall of stone |
| Ferguson | A.T. | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Killed by a box |
| Neary | Andrew | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 7 | Fell under moving car |
| Brown | Thomas | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| Boutilier | Seth | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Trip ran over him, died 7 days later |
| Hutchinson | William | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Killed by cage |