Pennsylvania, Register of Mine Accidents

Search Pennsylvania, Register of Mine Accidents

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    Discover whether your mining ancestor was involved in a mining accident in Pennsylvania. Within the records, you will find large numbers of immigrants which is indicated by their nationality along with vital information about the accident itself and whether it was fatal.

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    What can these records tell me?

    With each record, you will find a transcript of the vital information about the individual involved in the mining accident. Over time the amount of information recorded at the time of the accident changed as the volume of accidents diminished. You may find a combination of the following facts:

    • Name
    • Age
    • Birth year
    • Accident year
    • Accident date
    • Ethnicity
    • Citizenship
    • Marital status
    • Occupation
    • Operator
    • Mine name
    • County and State
    • Accident cause
    • Coal type
    • Card
    • Fatal or non-fatal
    • Inside or outside
    • Fault
    • Mine district
    • Mining experience (in years)
    • Occupation experience
    • Film
    • Source website

    Discover more about these records

    The records are from the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries documenting mine accidents for the anthracite districts and the bituminous districts between 1899 and 1972. They are held by the Pennsylvania State Archives and links to the PDF versions of the accident registers are available on the transcripts.

    The records explain where the accident happened, the cause, whether the accident was or was not fatal, and who was at fault. A few examples of the accidents include caught in a conveyor belt, runaway trip wrecked into an empty trip, crushed with a possible fracture of the leg, fallen roof, and falling coal.