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 28 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
Surname | Given Name(s) |
Year![]() |
County | Mine | Cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
McDonald | Hugh | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Severed artery in foot |
Edwards | Benjamin | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Electrocuted in power house |
Walker | Alexander | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
McCormack | Stephen | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Dropped dead coming up the travelling-way |
Love | Ernest | 1920 | Pictou County | Acadia No. 3 (Six-Foot) | Struck by a runaway box |
McDonald | Kenneth | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Crushed between box and pillar |
Doyle | James | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Struck by empty trip |
Fraser | John E. | 1921 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
West | Herbert | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of coal |
Turner | Alfred | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Struck by horse; in falling pick stabbed abdomen |
Amon | W. | 1921 | Pictou County | Acadia No. 1 | Buried 4 hours under fall, died at home in evening |
Large | August | 1921 | Inverness | Inverness | Fall down chute |
McKenzie | Joseph | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
Isnor | Hubert | 1921 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
Adair | Robert | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Bras d'Or No. 4 | Explosion of methane |
Snow | John W. | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of coal |
Neal | George | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Jubilee, Sydney Mines | Fall down shaft |
Richards | John M. | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Scotia No. 4 | Slipped and fell on travelling road; accident Jan. 4, died Jan. 24. |
Assiff | Joseph | 1921 | Inverness | Inverness | Hit by rake on level, died 2 days later |
McEwan | R. | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Explosion of methane |
Cameron | John | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal from face |
Purdy | Walter Charles | 1921 | Cumberland | St. George | Struck by piece of coal blown off by shot |
McDougall | Allan | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
Ward | Fred | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone, died next day |
Shannon | George "Happy" | 1921 | Cumberland | Joggins | Electrocuted by shock from cable on pavement |
Edwards | George | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Fall of stone from oof |
Robbins | William F. | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone |
Muir | Robert | 1921 | Pictou County | Drummond No. 5 (Intercolonial No. 5) | Fall of stone |
MacLeod | Wellington | 1921 | Pictou County | Albion | Suffocated by methane under coal fall |
Hayman | Wilbert | 1921 | Pictou County | McGregor | Fall of coal |
Murphy | Carl G. | 1921 | Cumberland | Springhill | Caught between beam of screen floor and break wheel of a moving railway car |
Casey | Archibald | 1921 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Struck by rake of coal |
McDonald | James E. | 1921 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Killed crossing over haulage rope in motion, caught by boxes |
Hest | Joseph | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 22 | Struck by runaway car, near landing |
Campbell | Ronald | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by horse-hauled mine car |
McIsaac | John D. | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of stone while timbering, died 5 days later |
Hibbs | James | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by runaway car in deep |
Beasley | Isaac | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone from roof in room |
Borden | Joseph | 1922 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of stone and coal |
MacDonald | Alexander | 1922 | Inverness | bootleg pit | Methane gas poisoning; 1 of 3 killed |
MacDonald | Donald R. | 1922 | Inverness | bootleg pit | Methane gas poisoning; 1 of 3 killed |
MacDonald | James | 1922 | Inverness | bootleg pit | Methane gas poisoning; 1 of 3 killed |
Nicholson | James | 1922 | Cumberland | Minudie #2 | Powder ignited by cartridge explosion, died 12 days later; 1 of 2 killed |
Long or Lank | Lawrence | 1922 | Cumberland | Minudie #2 | Powder ignited by cartridge explosion, died 14 days later |
Desmond | Frank | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Greener | Empty box passed over him, died 28 days later in hospital |
Cope | William A. | 1922 | Cumberland | Victoria | Caught between roof and car on slope, died 30 days later |
Boutilier | John | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone caused by runaway boxes |
Gouthro | Charles | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck and run over by full coal box |
Vanherek | Henry | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Fall of stone |
MacKeigan | John | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Jubilee, River Hebert | Fall of roof stone in level, died 21 days later |