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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis | John | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Bonar | John | 1877 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | John | 1900 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of stone at head of deep |
| Taylor | John | 1873 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall with tub in slope |
| Emery | John | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Manning | John | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Simpson | John | 1866 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery (Queen pit) | Run over by wagons |
| Murphy | John | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 5 | Fall of stone |
| Burchell | John | 1877 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Fell down shaft |
| Boran | John | 1898 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 3 slope | Fall of stone from roof in workplace |
| Campbell | John | 1908 | Inverness | Port Hood | Explosion on No. 3 level south; 1 of 10 killed |
| Cann | John | 1891 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Killed by cage when descending pit |
| Crain | John | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 3 | Fall of stone |
| Rose | John | 1949 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Fall of stone |
| Horn | John | 1900 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal whilst drawing pillars; 1 of 2 killed |
| Roberts | John | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| McGillivray | John | 1953 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Haulage |
| Jackson | John | 1958 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Terrific, devastating bump |
| Wooden | John | 1918 | Pictou County | Greenwood | roof fall |
| Campbell | John | 1938 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Broken cable on riding rake; 1 of 21 killed |
| Sinclair | John | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Gillis | John | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Hickey | John | 1936 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Patten | John | 1941 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 11 | Runaway trip |
| Josso | John | 1891 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Fall of coal in room |
| McDonald | John | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | John | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Caught between full trip and prop |
| McDonald | John | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Haggart | Joe or James | 1885 | Pictou County | Vale | Devastating methane explosion |
| Prindle | Joe | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal from face |
| Skinner | Job | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Hoeg | Jesse Havelock | 1959 | Cumberland | Cochran | Fall of stone |
| Armishaw | Jesse | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Murphy | Jeremiah | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Fosse | Jean Baptiste | 1876 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall of coal |
| Wood | Jasper E. or R. | 1919 | Cumberland | St. George | Fell down slope, died 1 day later |
| MacDonald | Jasper | 1926 | Pictou County | Albion | Struck by falling timber prop |
| Hamilton | James Y. | 1928 | Pictou County | Drummond No. 5 (Intercolonial No. 5) | Fell head first while timbering the roof when staging collaped under fall of heavy coal lump |
| Higgins | James William | 1980 | Pictou County | Thorburn Mining Ltd, Stellarton | Fell and struck head, died 4 days later; coal dumps reclamation project |
| Casey | James W. | 1953 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Killed by haulage |
| Fraser | James W. | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | influx of water; 1 of 6 killed |
| McDonald | James T. | 1905 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 3 | Fall of coal from roof |
| Miller | James Sr. | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Roach or Roche | James Sr. | 1932 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal |
| McDonald | James R. | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of coal |
| Anderson | James R. | 1979 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Methane explosion, sparked by coal shearer hitting stone; 1 of 12 killed |
| Brennan | James P. | 1952 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Bump; 1 of 2 killed |
| Keiver | James L. | 1924 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| McPherson | James Jr. | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Burke | James J. | 1940 | Cumberland | Victoria | Undetermined |