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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunphy | James | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of coal from face |
| Spellman | James | 1912 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Runaway empty box on Drummond #1 slope; 1 of 2 killed |
| McGill | James | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Runaway car |
| Purvis | James | 1902 | Pictou County | Albion | Fall of top coal |
| Pembroke | James | 1942 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Struck by rake |
| Snellgrove | James | 1930 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Painter; injured by ventilating fan |
| Doyle | James | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 14 | Struck by empty trip |
| Steele | James | 1936 | Cape Breton County | North Sydney Pier | Falling into pocket |
| Quigley | James | 1943 | Inverness | Inverness No. 3 | Crushed between engine drum and rope |
| Turner | James | 1924 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of stone |
| McLellan | James | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of coal from pillar |
| Brown | James | 1914 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Carbon monoxide after devastating explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| Stanton | James | 1892 | Pictou County | Albion | Under engine hit by hoppers and run over |
| Stevenson | James | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Coal tank platform tilted, threw man down shaft; 1 of 4 killed being lifted in coal shaft |
| Russell | James | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Heart failure |
| Ramsey | James | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Overs | James | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Shea | James | 1867 | Inverness | Port Hood | Crushed by machinery |
| Tebo or Tebe | James | 1893 or 1894 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 slope | Full box struck prop from under boom |
| Piquinot | James | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Baxter | James | 1913 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of roof |
| Devoe | James | 1924 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Killed by box on main deep |
| Stevenson | James | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Napier | James | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Fall of stone |
| Kingou | James | 1873 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of coal |
| Walker | James | 1937 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Dunsmuir | James | 1924 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of stone |
| Stewart | James | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Colonial No. 1 | Struck by coal boxes |
| Lackie or Lackey | James | 1925 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal from roof of a pillar; 1 of 2 killed |
| Fortune | James | 1894 | Cape Breton County | International | Full trip on deep road |
| Reeves | James | 1872 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall of coal |
| Dalling | James | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Hibbs | James | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by runaway car in deep |
| Wallace | James | 1970 | Cape Breton County | Princess Wash Plant, Surface | Squeezed in a chain conveyor |
| Riley | James | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Squeezed between boxes |
| Shanahan | James | 1882 | Cape Breton County | Little Glace Bay | Fall of stone from roof |
| Scully | James | 1924 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Carbon monoxide suffocation after explosion; 1 of 4 killed |
| Stewart | James | 1906 | Pictou County | Albion | Struck by a rake |
| Young | James | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Squeezed between prop and trip |
| Chisholm | James | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Webb | James | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| Robbins | James | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Gas and coal dust explosion |
| Mitchell | James | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Ferguson | James | 1897 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 slope | Fall of roof while opening No. 1 slope |
| Laite | James | 1927 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Fall of coal from face |
| Handrahan | James | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of stone from roof |
| McMullin | James | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Tomson | Injured while replacing derailed box |
| Locke | James | 1919 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by piece of wood |
| Johnston | James | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fatally injured by air pipe bursting, died a month later |
| Edwards | James | 1950 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Haulage |