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 1 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) |
Year |
County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowe | William | 1839 | Pictou County | Storr pit | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| Conn | James | 1839 | Pictou County | Storr pit | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| Redpath | George | 1858 | Pictou County | Cage pit | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| Russell | unknown | 1858 | Pictou County | Cage pit | Carbon monoxide after methane explosion 1of 2 killed |
| MacKenzie | Daniel | 1861 | Pictou County | Bye pit | Methane explosion |
| Roach | William | 1861 | Pictou County | Bye pit | Methane explosion |
| Robertson | James | 1861 | Pictou County | Bye pit | Methane explosion |
| McAskill | D. | 1864 | Cumberland | Victoria | |
| Jose | Henry | 1865 | Pictou County | Either Bye, Cage, Dalhousie pit | Fall down shaft |
| Mahoney | Patrick | 1866 | Pictou County | Dalhousie pit | Fall of coal |
| Burke | William | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of picks in shaft |
| Hoyt | Henry | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Fall of coal |
| McCarney | unknown | 1866 | Pictou County | Above ground, at Acadia wharf | Fell and struck his head |
| Simpson | John | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Run over by wagons |
| MacLean | John | 1866 | Pictou County | Dalhousie pit | Fall of coal |
| McGilchrist or Gilgrist | John | 1866 | Pictou County | Foster pit | Clothing caught in hoist winding drum |
| MacKenzie | Hector | 1867 | Pictou County | Montreal & Pictou | Fall of stone |
| Forbes | Andrew | 1867 | Pictou County | unidentified shaft being sunk or Cage pit | Methane explosion |
| Campbell | Patrick | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of methane |
| McLeod | Thomas | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Fall of stone |
| Shea | James | 1867 | Inverness | Port Hood | Crushed by machinery |
| White | Morris | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of methane |
| Timmons | John | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Collins | Fall of coal; 1 of 2 killed |
| Timmons | Peter | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Collins | Fall of coal; 1 of 2 killed |
| Bennois | John | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Explosion of powder |
| MacLean | Alex | 1867 | Pictou County | unidentified shaft being sunk or Cage pit | Methane explosion |
| Sullivan | John | 1867 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Crushed in mine |
| Harvey | Robert | 1867 | Pictou County | Cage pit | Gas suffocation |
| Reid | Robert | 1868 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of earth on surface; working on rail line |
| Campbell | John | 1868 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of coal |
| Fraser | Simon | 1868 | Pictou County | Acadia | Crushed between two cars |
| Hamilton | Samuel | 1868 | Pictou County | Acadia | Methane explosion |
| Conway | John | 1868 | Cape Breton County | Aspe Bay | Explosion of powder |
| Currie | Angus | 1868 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of coal |
| McIntyre | W. | 1868 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Crushed by machinery |
| Hickman | Henry | 1869 | Pictou County | Marsh Colliery (not Marsh mine) | Fall down shaft |
| MacDonald | D. | 1869 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Powder explosion |
| Palmer | Robert | 1869 | Pictou County | Marsh Colliery (not Marsh mine) | Fall down shaft |
| MacPherson | R. | 1869 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Crushed by coal tubs |
| Luckman | John | 1870 | Cape Breton County | International | Crushed by cage |
| Young | Thomas | 1870 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Fall of coal |
| Brennick | John | 1870 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Run over by wagon |
| McLellan | A. | 1870 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Run over by loconotive |
| McGillivray | Alex | 1871 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Killed in the Foord by gas |
| Green | John | 1871 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Fall off bridge |
| McKinnon | J. | 1871 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Fall of coal |
| McMullen | Kenneth | 1871 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Explosion of powder or fall of coal |
| McGilderick | A. | 1871 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Methane explosion |
| McLean | Angus | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Run over by wagon |
| Winter | Edward | 1872 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of roof coal; possibly in Cumberland County |