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 2 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname |
Given Name(s) |
Year | County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stewart | William | 1874 | Pictou County | Black Diamond | Fall of coal |
| Blake | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| Cherrie | William | 1905 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | killed at the 2400-foot level |
| Mirtan | William | 1872 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Powder explosion |
| Hannaham or Hanrahan | William | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Bonar | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| Reid | William | 1929 | Pictou County | McGregor | Struck on head by falling jackhammer; died 5 weeks later |
| Burchill or Birchill | William | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Main | William | 1919 | Cumberland | St. George | Struck by runaway box |
| Desmond | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
| Stevenson | William | 1917 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Struck by prop, died 3 days later |
| Lettuce | William | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Explosion |
| Roach | William | 1861 | Pictou County | Bye pit | Methane explosion |
| Henderson | William | 1905 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 3 | Fall of coal |
| Long | William | 1901 or 1902 | Cumberland | Jubilee, River Hebert | Bankhead under construction fell on him |
| Snow | William | 1930 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck head on roof when box jumped track |
| O'Brien | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Jewkes | William | 1958 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Terrific, devastating bump |
| Oram | William | 1878 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Methane explosion; 1 of 6 killed |
| Vokey | William | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Loose coal from face |
| Hutchinson | William | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Killed by cage |
| Brown | William | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Kendell | William | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | William | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by trip |
| Peters | William | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Killed by main drive-chain on bank, on surface |
| Barnes | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Struck by runaway box |
| Walsh | William | 1905 | Inverness | Port Hood | Hit by boom sliding down slope while timbering |
| Cooke | William | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| Cassidy | William | 1906 | Inverness | Inverness | Struck by a rake on main slope |
| Layton | William | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Injured while riding trip |
| McLeod | William | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Killed by coal fall while removing coal leg |
| Holm | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| Lewis | William | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Nicholson | William | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Squeezed between box and pillar |
| Carey | William | 1905 | Cape Breton County | New Campbellton | Killed on main slope by the trip |
| Milburn | William | 1895 or 1896 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 slope | Thrown from cage |
| Chisholm | William | 1925 | Inverness | Inverness No. 1 | Killed by runaway box |
| Simpson | William | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Afterdamp from methane explosion; 1 of 11 killed |
| Horne or Horone | William | 1895 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall from roof |
| Roache or Roche | William | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 5 | Fall of stone |
| Campbell | William | 1884 | Pictou County | Albion | Premature explosion of a shot |
| Hamilton | William | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery; Nova Scotia Steel & Coal | Killed by runaway trip on slope |
| Partner | William | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Collins | William | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Crushed under trip |
| Penny | William | 1928 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Ramsay | William | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Fall of roof |
| Dunbar | William | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Wilkie | William | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Rodgers | William | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Snow | William | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Fall of stone |