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 43 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname | Given Name(s) | Year |
County |
Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacDonald | Murdock | 1877 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Explosion of boiler; 1 of 3 killed |
| Hall | Edward | 1879 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Empty horse wagon ran away |
| Vicars | John | 1889 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess?) | Fall of loose coal, died after 12 days |
| Ferguson | Ronald | 1894 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Explosion of dynamite while heating it |
| Spencer | William | 1897 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Burned by compressed powder |
| McDonald | Alexander | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Afterdamp from methane explosion; 1 of 11 killed |
| McDonald | John | 1900 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Killed by stone fall at face |
| Thistle | George | 1901 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Killed by runaway wagon from pit bottom |
| McDonald | Daniel | 1892 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Scalded by boiler explosion, died 9 days later 1 of 3 killed |
| Jackson | Harry or Henry | 1903 | Cape Breton County | Reserve | Methane explosion No.5 S level, French slope |
| McMullen | Bernard | 1904 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery; Nova Scotia Steel & Coal | Killed by a trip |
| McPherson | Malcolm | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| McNeil | John P. | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Killed by runaway box grab slipping off rope |
| McDonald | C.R. | 1907 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 6 | Struck by empty trip |
| Hawley or Holley | Edward | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Box knocked out prop and boom, stone fell on him |
| Stewart | Malcolm | 1908 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Overwind man-shaft cage; 1of 2 killed |
| Schiavan | Petro | 1909 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 3 | Fall of stone |
| Andrews | William | 1910 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of coal |
| MacIntyre | Joseph | 1893 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Run over by cage in balance, died next day |
| McDougall | John A. | 1904 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines Colliery; Nova Scotia Steel & Coal | Fall of stone |
| Marsh | James | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of rib coal |
| Handrahan | James | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of stone from roof |
| Paterson | William | 1912 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of coal |
| Assemmather | Fawl | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Morrison | William | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 8 | Struck by box |
| McNeil | John M. | 1914 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal at face |
| Barrett | Abe | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 9 | Fall of stone |
| McDonald | Allan | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Fall of roof |
| McLennan | J. A. | 1916 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Caught by cage |
| Munro | John D. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Run over by a trip of cars |
| Boone | Isaac | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| Durham | Thomas | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| McKay | John D. | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| Parsons | William | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 12 | Methane and blasting powder explosion |
| McDonald | D. W. C. | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| Donnelly | Robert | 1918 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Fall of stone |
| Boutilier | Angus | 1920 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Fall of roof |
| Turner | Alfred | 1921 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Struck by horse; in falling pick stabbed abdomen |
| MacKeigan | John | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Jubilee, River Hebert | Fall of roof stone in level, died 21 days later |
| Beasley | Isaac | 1922 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone from roof in room |
| McIntosh | Michael | 1924 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Fall of stone |
| McAulay | Ronald | 1925 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 22 | Fall of stone |
| Hariett | Daniel | 1926 | Cape Breton County | Colonial No. 1 | Caught in longwall machine cutter chain |
| Nicholson | William | 1927 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 10 | Squeezed between box and pillar |
| Gallant | Raymond | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 16 | Killed by rake |
| Bonner | Harry | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Walsh | P. Joseph | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1B | Struck by runaway box |
| Bozeman | John | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Fall of coal |
| Waye | Daniel | 1931 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of coal from face |
| Grycorn | John | 1933 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of stone |