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 15 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year | County |
Mine |
Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholson | John | 1881 | Pictou County | Vale | Caught between moving rake & door |
| MacDonald | Daniel | 1873 | Pictou County | Vale | Crushed by coal tubs |
| Nicholson | John | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Fosse | Jean Baptiste | 1876 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall of coal |
| McEachran or MacEachern | James | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Grant | John | 1885 | Pictou County | Vale | Devastating methane explosion |
| Hendricken | William | 1873 | Pictou County | Vale | Crushed by coal tubs |
| McBeth or MacBeath | Phillip | 1885 | Pictou County | Vale | Devastating methane explosion |
| Boquet | Berry | 1892 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall of coal from working face |
| Grant | Dougald | 1899 | Pictou County | Vale | Methane explosion by naked light |
| Spoors | Mat | 1887 | Pictou County | Vale | Caught beneath a roof fall while timbering; 1 of 2 killed |
| MacDonald | F. | 1902 | Pictou County | Vale | Powder explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| Taylor | John | 1873 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall with tub in slope |
| Campbell | Colin | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Christopher | George | 1879 | Pictou County | Vale | Rope broke while on loaded tubs |
| McNeil | Dan | 1885 | Pictou County | Vale | Devastating methane explosion |
| Paul | John | 1956 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosives |
| McMullin | James | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Injured while replacing derailed box |
| Barnes | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Struck by runaway box |
| Lettuce | William | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosion |
| Higgins | James William | 1980 | Pictou County | Thorburn Mining Ltd, Stellarton | Fell and struck head, died 4 days later; coal dumps reclamation project |
| Clark | Samuel | 1925 | Pictou County | Thom or Tom pit | Killed by boxes |
| Vaast | Lucien (boy) | 1916 | Pictou County | Thom or Tom pit | Gas explosion at mouth of abandoned slope; boy was chasing a ball |
| MacLeod | Neil | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 5 (Queen) | Fall of stone |
| Burns | George | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 5 (Queen) | Full box ran over him on main level |
| Ferrymand | Edward | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 5 (Queen) | Fall of stone |
| Haworth | Joseph | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 5 (Queen) | Fall of stone |
| McAldine | William | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Fall of stone |
| White | Thomas | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Fall of stone |
| Broderick | R. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Struck by runaway box down main slope; 1 of 3 killed |
| Nicholson | J.W. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Struck by runaway box down main slope; 1 of 3 killed |
| Pendergrast | Donald | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Struck by runaway box down main slope; 1 of 3 killed |
| Macmillan | Rod | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Fall of stone |
| Theriault | Wilfred | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 4 (Scotia) | Killed by shot blowing through pillar |
| Enion | Benjamin | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 3 (Florence) | Fall of coal from face |
| Dawe | Andrew | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 3 (Florence) | Runaway box knocked out timber he was putting up and stone fell on him |
| LeBlanc | Edward | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 3 (Florence) | Struck by moving box |
| Bond | Alexander | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 3 (Florence) | Fall of coal |
| Brown | Charles | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 3 (Florence) | Fall of stone |
| Lamond | James | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Sydney No. 3 (Florence) | Caught between box and prop |
| Millville | Edward | 1878 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Methane explosion; 1 of 6 killed |
| Vickers | Edward | 1905 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fall of stone |
| Vickers | Alexander | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Killed trying to jump on a full trip |
| Baxendale | Ellis | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fall of stone |
| Oram | William | 1878 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Methane explosion; 1 of 6 killed |
| LeBlanc | Edward | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Struck by a moving box |
| D'Orsay | John | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Overwind man-shaft cage; 1of 2 killed |
| McNeil | John P. | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Killed by runaway box grab slipping off rope |
| Stewart | Malcolm | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Overwind man-shaft cage; 1of 2 killed |
| McKinnon | F. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Runaway box inflicted injury causing death |