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 3 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname |
Given Name(s) |
Year | County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott | William | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| McDonald | William | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by trip |
| Kelloway | William | 1965 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Haulage: Struck by box |
| Barnes | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Struck by runaway box |
| Power | William | 1920 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal |
| Spencer | William | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Burned by compressed powder |
| Dixon | William | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Jubilee, Sydney Mines | Runaway trip |
| Paterson | William | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of coal |
| MacKenzie | William | 1903 | Pictou County | Albion | Jumped from moving train in mine yard |
| King | William | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Methane explosion No.5 S level, French slope |
| Layton | William | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Injured while riding trip |
| Morrison | William | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 8 | Struck by box |
| Holm | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Lettuce | William | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosion |
| Cyr | William | 1920 | Pictou County | Drummond No. 5 (Intercolonial No. 5) | Run over by an empty box |
| McAldine | William | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Fall of stone |
| McNamara | William | 1877 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of boiler; 1 of 3 killed |
| Carroll | William | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Jammed between coal hoppers at surface |
| Hubert | William | 1940 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Caught between 2 rail cars on surface |
| Whiteway | William | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Methane explosion No.5 S level, French slope; died from burns 3 days later |
| Myers | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Betts | William | 1914 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Boiler explosion in surface plant; 1 of 7 killed |
| McLutchy | William | 1890 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of stone from roof, died 5 weeks later |
| Burke | William | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of picks in shaft |
| Aldrid | William | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fatally injured while riding in empty trip |
| Burchill or Birchill | William | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Hyde | William | 1887 | Pictou County | Vale | Caught beneath a roof fall while timbering; 1 of 2 killed |
| Cherrie | William | 1905 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | killed at the 2400-foot level |
| Wilkie | William | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Hachey | William | 1932 | Cumberland | Maple Leaf No. 4 | Dust and gas explosion; 1 of 5 killed |
| Ince | William | 1938 | Pictou County | Acadia No. 7 (Moss mine) | Caught by fall of rock |
| Patton | William | 1883 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Suffocated by carbonic acid (1 of 3 killed) |
| Frew | William | 1906 | Pictou County | English Slopes (abandoned) | Methane exploded when boy lit match while playing near old slope opening; 1 of 2 killed |
| Stentley | William | 1914 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal |
| Luffman | William | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Collins | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Crushed under trip |
| Walsh | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Brown | William | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Stevenson | William | 1917 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Struck by prop, died 3 days later |
| Jewkes | William | 1958 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Terrific, devastating bump |
| Driscol or Driscoll | William | 1926 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Slipped from car, wheels passed over him |
| Peters | William | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Killed by main drive-chain on bank, on surface |
| Walsh | William | 1905 | Inverness | Port Hood | Hit by boom sliding down slope while timbering |
| Henderson | William | 1905 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 3 | Fall of coal |
| Hall | William | 1918 | Cumberland | Joggins | Fall of stone, died 14 hours later |
| Sumners | William | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Fell down shaft |
| Hutchinson | William | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Killed by cage |
| Cassidy | William | 1906 | Inverness | Inverness | Struck by a rake on main slope |
| Newcomb | William | 1911 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Killed by a fall of timber |
| Sampson | William | 1953 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Haulage |