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 5 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) |
Year |
County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan | Thomas | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Burkett | "young" | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| MacDonald | John | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Murdock | William | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McElvie | Hugh | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | influx of water; 1 of 6 killed |
| Sutherland | David | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Ryan | John | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| MacLean | Hector | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Lennon | James | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McGillivray | Angus | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Johnson | John J. | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| MacLeod | Robert | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Nearing | Joseph | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McInnis | John | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Lewis | William | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Skinner | Job | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McInnis | Peter | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Thomas | Lewis | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Savage | Edward | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Connolly | C. | 1880 | Pictou County | Vale | Burned by gas ignited by his open-flame lamp |
| Conway | James D. | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | influx of water; 1 of 6 killed |
| McKay | Thomas | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Dragon | John | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McKay | Angus | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Turner | James | 1880 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of coal |
| Mitchell | James | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Blue | John | 1881 | Cumberland | Springhill | Struck by cage |
| Nash | John | 1881 | Pictou County | Acadia | Devastating methane explosion |
| Bigney | Robert | 1881 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 | Rope broke on cage |
| Cook | Robert | 1881 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Riding on Engine plane |
| Nicholson | John | 1881 | Pictou County | Vale | Caught between moving rake & door |
| McEachern | Alexander | 1882 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Killed by a rake of full pit tubs |
| Shanahan | James | 1882 | Cape Breton County | Little Glace Bay | Fall of stone from roof |
| MacKay | J. | 1883 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Hit by flying fragments of broken pinion wheel |
| Campbell | Colin | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Burke | Charles | 1883 | Cumberland | Joggins | Fall of coal |
| Lockhart | Dan | 1883 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Killed by cage going off track |
| Hudson or Hodgeson | John | 1883 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Suffocated by carbonic acid (1 of 3 killed) |
| Fraser | Alexander | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Burrows | John | 1883 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Suffocated by carbonic acid (1 of 3 killed) |
| Patton | William | 1883 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Suffocated by carbonic acid (1 of 3 killed) |
| McEachran or MacEachern | James | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Baillie | D. | 1883 | Pictou County | Albion | Killed by a runaway rake |
| Hannaham or Hanrahan | William | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Gillies or Gillis | James | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| McGilvray or MacGillivray | Wallace | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Flinn or Flynn | Garnett | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall of coal |
| Fletcher | William | 1883 | Cumberland | Springhill | Killed by fracture of brake bolt |
| Keigan | Angus | 1883 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Run over by coal tub |
| Nicholson | John | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |