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 26 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County![]() |
Mine | Cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
McDonald | John | 1939 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
MacIntyre | Dan | 1941 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Undetermined |
Boone | John | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Struck by trip; 1 of 2 killed |
Whalen | Emmanuel | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Tally boy; Crushed between box and loader (likely on surface) |
Gillis | Henry | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Crushed between trip and rubbing rail |
Oliver | William | 1944 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Struck by trip |
Luscombe | Edmund Clarence | 1945 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Caught between box and timber |
Peddle | Arthur | 1946 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
Ransome | James H. | 1949 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
Doboi | Andrew | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
Blake | William | 1952 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Methane explosion; 1 of 7 killed |
O'Handley | Malcolm | 1954 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Gas asphixiation; 1 of 2 killed |
Roach | John | 1955 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
Young | John A. | 1956 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of timber |
Martel | James | 1958 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 20 | Construction |
McLean | Wilmont | 1959 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
Boutilier | Ben | 1960 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Fall of stone |
Boozan | Leo | 1963 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage |
MacLean | John J. | 1966 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Haulage: Hit by an empty trip |
Stoker | Matthew | 1968 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 26 | Natural Causes |
Matheson | James E. | 1971 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Haulage: Struck by a trip of material |
Sharpe | Clifford | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
Gallant | Sheldon | 1988 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Hit on head |
Bartholemew or Bartholomew | Joseph | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
Blackwood | Thomas | 1914 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Carbon monoxide after devastating explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
Brown | Murdock | 1934 | Pictou County | Drummond (Intercolonial) No. 2 Scott slope | Struck on head when taking coal to chute |
Campbell | John | 1868 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of coal |
Cassidy | Francis | 1894 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Run over by a coal trip |
Conway | James D. | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | influx of water; 1 of 6 killed |
Cyr | William | 1920 | Pictou County | Drummond No. 5 (Intercolonial No. 5) | Run over by an empty box |
Doyle | Edward | 1935 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of rock |
Ellis | John | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
Forbes | Andrew | 1867 | Pictou County | unidentified shaft being sunk or Cage pit | Methane explosion |
Fraser | John E. | 1921 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
Gossens | Octav | 1920 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal |
Halliday | Duncan | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
Hayman | Archibald | 1952 | Pictou County | McGregor | Methane explosion (localized); 1 of 19 killed |
Isnor | Hubert | 1921 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of coal |
Jordan | Norman | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
Laite | James | 1927 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal from face |
Lipton | Dave | 1954 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | watchman, died suddenly at work |
MacDonald | Daniel | 1873 | Pictou County | Vale | Crushed by coal tubs |
MacInnis or MacInnes | John Henry | 1940 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of roof coal, died 4 days later |
MacKenzie | Kenneth | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
MacNeil | Angus Joseph | 1992 | Pictou County | Westray | Devastating methane and coal dust explosion |
McAulay | Joseph | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
McEachern | Alexander | 1882 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Killed by a rake of full pit tubs |
McKay | Angus | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
McMaster | D. | 1908 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Fall of coal |
Mirtan | William | 1872 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Powder explosion |