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 10 of 50 pages (2498 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) |
Year |
County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantfill | Arthur | 1892 | Cumberland | Victoria; or Cape Breton County | Crushed by runaway box down balance, died 2 days later |
| McDonald | John | 1892 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of loose coal from face of room |
| Gleason | James | 1892 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Fell down shaft while working there |
| Cantfill | Arthur | 1892 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Crushed by runaway box down balance, died 2 days later |
| Boquet | Berry | 1892 | Pictou County | Vale | Fall of coal from working face |
| MacIntyre | Joseph | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Run over by cage in balance, died next day |
| McAskill | D. | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Caught by full cage on balance |
| MacIntyre | Joseph | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Run over by cage in balance, died next day |
| McKinnon | Murdock | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of stone from roof |
| Young | Alexander | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of roof coal, died 6 days later |
| McCormick | Vin | 1893 | Cape Breton County | International | Fall of roof coal at face; also recorded as 1894 |
| Boutilier | John | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Firedamp escaped from submerged district; (methane poisoning) |
| Walsh | Patrick | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Fall of coal from working face |
| Tebo or Tebe | James | 1893 or 1894 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 slope | Full box struck prop from under boom |
| Finlayson | John | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of coal, died 15 days later |
| Martin | John | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Piece of coal from roof |
| Cassidy | Francis | 1894 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Run over by a coal trip |
| Davidson | Charles | 1894 | Pictou County | Acadia | Squeezed by a box of timber |
| Pike | Jabez | 1894 | Cumberland | Joggins | Run over by full rake |
| Foster | Alex | 1894 | Pictou County | Albion | Run over by a coal trip |
| Pero | E. | 1894 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Locomotive started on its own, ran over him |
| Ferguson | Ronald | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Explosion of dynamite while heating it |
| Fraser | Stephen | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fell 68 feet from smoke stack, died 5 days later |
| Fortune | James | 1894 | Cape Breton County | International | Full trip on deep road |
| Campbell | Peter | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Little Glace Bay | Caught by full tub against pillar |
| Hardy | Dan | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| McKinnon | Alexander | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| McLean | Hector | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fell under coal car on surface railroad |
| Davidson | John | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Hub | Fell from stage down shaft; 1 of 2 killed |
| Gracy | Bosel | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Hub | Fell from stage down shaft; 1 of 2 killed |
| McInnis | Alexander | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Caught between coal box and pillar |
| Matheson | Hugh Thomas | 1895 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 | Taking down top coal |
| Gualtieri or Gaualtiere | Natali | 1895 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 slope | Fall from roof |
| Horne or Horone | William | 1895 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall from roof |
| McLain | Hector | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fatally injured on head by fall of roof coal |
| Glenn | Alex | 1895 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall from roof of working face |
| Milburn | William | 1895 or 1896 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 slope | Thrown from cage |
| McLain | Hector | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Reserve or Gowrie | |
| Cathcart | James | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Bridgeport | Fall of coal while loading |
| Ferguson | Allen | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Struck by part of junk while loading |
| McKinnon | Hector | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Hub | Fall of coal from pillar |
| McLeod | William | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Killed by coal fall while removing coal leg |
| McLennan | Philip | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Fall of roof coal while loading |
| Robertson | Robert | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Walked in under cage |
| Gallant | Lawrence | 1896 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 3 slope | Runaway in slope |
| McDonald | John | 1896 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Caught between full trip and prop |
| McDougall | Peter | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Killed on balance, run over by cuddy |
| McLellan | James | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Fall of coal from pillar |
| Spencer | William | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Burned by compressed powder |
| Lund | John | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Caught between coal box and pillar |