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 39 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County |
Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald | Kenneth | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Crushed between box and pillar |
| McDougall | Allan | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Prentice | Patrick | 1923 | Cape Breton County | Colonial No. 2 | Electric wire |
| Handrigan | John | 1923 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Fall of stone in pillar work; 1 of 2 killed |
| Devoe | James | 1924 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Killed by box on main deep |
| Roach | Dan | 1926 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Fitzner | John | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Young | George | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Colonial No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | John | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Fall of coal |
| Strang | Thomas L. | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Donkey runner; caught in rope on drum |
| Chiasson | Joseph R. | 1930 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Gerard | Daniel | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Engine and bed raised by jerk; he fell underneath |
| Kavanaugh | Michael | 1933 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Overcome by gas |
| Kutzyk | Matthew | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Martin | Isadore | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Bradbury | Isaac | 1936 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2, Surface | Fell in pickling tank on surface |
| Clarke | Herbert | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone |
| Michaelites | Joseph | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Run over by trip |
| McPhee | Donald | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Harris | John | 1939 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Fall of stone |
| McNeil | Alex H | 1941 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Attempted to get on moving train |
| Phalen | Louis | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Struck by trip; 1 of 2 killed |
| McMullin | James | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Injured while replacing derailed box |
| MacComiskey | Owen | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Struck by trip |
| McLeod | Thomas | 1944 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal and stone |
| Nicoloff | George | 1945 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of coal |
| Cobert | James | 1946 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Haulage |
| Young | Alex | 1949 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Haulage |
| MacDonald | Harry | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of stone |
| Bonar | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| McLellan | Donald | 1954 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Gas asphixiation; 1 of 2 killed |
| Pittman | John | 1955 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Haulage |
| Boutilier | Charles Jr. | 1956 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
| McEachern | Bernard | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Haulage |
| Rockett | Fred | 1959 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Haulage |
| Martin | Henry | 1960 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Fall of stone |
| MacDonald | Lauchie | 1963 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage |
| Chiasson | Paul C. | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Haulage: Struck by runaway box |
| Reashor | Maurice | 1968 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Coronary heart attack |
| Snow | John | 1972 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | |
| Ward | Fabian E. | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| Tighe | John (boy) | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 17 (old Victoria) | Methane inhalation; 1 of 2 cousins who went down old slope |
| Timmons | Peter | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Collins | Fall of coal; 1 of 2 killed |
| Winter | Edward | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of roof coal; possibly in Cumberland County |
| Martell | Charles | 1873 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Crushed by wagons |
| Hall | Edward | 1889 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Possibly in Cumberland County |
| Gleason | James | 1892 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Fell down shaft while working there |
| Davidson | John | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Hub | Fell from stage down shaft; 1 of 2 killed |
| Doyle | John, Sr. | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Afterdamp from methane explosion; 1 of 11 killed |
| Willis | William | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fall of roof stone whilst driving |