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  1. #1
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    Default Mining Death - getting out of cage too soon

    Hi, I don't know if anyone can help, but I have an ancestor who died in the Seghill Mine in 1872. He was a 'Furnaceman' and was 70 years old. The notes on his death read: 'getting out of cage too soon'. I realise that the cage transported men and materials up and down the mine shaft, but was wondering how did such an accident happen? Would this occur at the top of the shaft and he somehow fell down a gap, or would it be near the bottom and he was crushed by the cage itself as it came down. Just wondering how it would/could physically happen and why he would/could have got out of the cage too soon! This is the first time I have made any post - thank you so much if you can help with this. Regards.

  2. #2
    K9ARO
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    Hi

    If you look at others whose death was classified in the same way, this is what is said in one obituary /newspaper report

    "Descending from the surface to the "hole" he stepped out of the cage too soon and fell down the shaft [Sunderland Daily Echo reports: accident - 30 May 1894 pg 3 col 5]"

    " Number 29 on the list occurred at North Biddick Colliery, on the 29th of May last, about 9.50 o'clock a.m., causing the death of John Kinross, a banksman.

    The cage had just come to bank, to the heapstead level, with a tub and tram in it and the latter was loaded with old timber, which it was necessary to take out at the ground level, 22 feet lower down. He took the tub out, and then got inside the cage, beside the timber tram, and told the winding engineman to take the cage to the ground level; this he proceeded to do; but it appears deceased either fainted and fell out, or attempted to get out of the cage before it stopped, and 6 feet above the ground level, and he fell to the bottom of the shaft, a distance of 230 yards, and was killed.

    This man had no business to get into the cage to go to the lower level; there were proper steps provided from the heapstead to the ground, and he could have sent the timber down in the cage, and then gone down these and walked to the shaft and got the tram out, and by not doing so he lost his life, "

    Hope that is some help, dangerous job mining and certainly in those times

  3. #3
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    Default Thanks!

    Hi, Thanks very much for that input. Yes, I have discovered two direct ancestors killed in the mines, one by an explosion and one by a fall of coal. The ancestor who got out of the cage too soon was by marriage - the second husband of direct ancestor who lost both husbands to the mines. Maybe he just was not up to it at the age of 70. It was a hard life! Thanks again, Hilary.

  4. #4
    Brick wall demolition expert!
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    If anyone is looking for details of people hurt in coal mining accidents the link below takes you to a site which has a searchable database. It also provides a good resource for coal mining queries

    Link removed, as site no longer exists, the resource has been transferred to Ancestry.
    Last edited by almach; 03-04-2018 at 2:01 AM. Reason: Removed a link which no longer exists.

  5. #5
    rodgebhardt
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    This is quite a difficult one to solve. If you can find out the type of cage used you will be able to guestimate how it happened. NORMALLY there is a safety gate which is latched to prohibit anyone from opening the gate whilst the cage is being raised or lowered. If however he opened the gate before the cage drew level with the intended stop he could have fallen out of the cage.
    There are a whole series of possibilities as to how he fell out of the cage. Being a mining fatality, there would have been an investigation.
    I am not sure if there was a Board of enquiry into fatal mining accidents at that time. Maybe someone else would be able to advise.
    Regards

  6. #6
    A fountain of knowledge
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    My great uncle died in roof fall in pit at Leigh. There was an inquest and death cert issued by coroner. There was also coverage in local press. so suggest these lines of enquiry.
    Last edited by macwil; 12-10-2015 at 1:41 PM. Reason: spelling

  7. #7
    Valued member of Brit-Gen emmteeyess's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Megan Roberts View Post
    If anyone is looking for details of people hurt in coal mining accidents the link below takes you to a site which has a searchable database. It also provides a good resource for coal mining queries.

    https://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/home/index.html
    This is also a good searchable site for mining deaths, though limited to Durham and the North of England. (There is a memorial entry on here for one of my ancestors who is not on the other site, so it's worth checking on both.)

    https://www.dmm.org.uk/names/index.htm

    The John Kinross in post#2 is listed.

    The site is also very good for background info on mines, occupations etc. Well worth investigating.

    Cheers, MTS

  8. #8
    ansaunders
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    Hi Hilary,
    My father was a cage man at Geevor tin mine. Modern mines would not have such an accident but back then they would cover the shaft, he obviously got out before the shaft was covered. The was a story that sometimes between shift changes the men would be transported in the skip (which is far more dangerous) as it take time to change them over. Geevor apparently did have an accident where one unfortunate chap was transported in the skip and realised it was going up too fast and was going to be dumped in the grizzly (certain death), he jumped for the side, missed and ended up going down the shaft.
    H&S came about from the industrial accidents

  9. #9
    A fountain of knowledge
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    Quote Originally Posted by Megan Roberts View Post
    If anyone is looking for details of people hurt in coal mining accidents the link below takes you to a site which has a searchable database. It also provides a good resource for coal mining queries.

    https://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/home/index.html
    This link no longer works.

    I seem to remember seeing somewhere that the site was acquired by a commercial concern and incorporated into their own website after the previous owners death. I can't for the life of me remember who it was, not one of the big ones though.

  10. #10
    Knowledgeable and helpful
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    This site carries a link to an archived copy of the CMHRC:

    https://www.
    familyhistorydirectory.co.uk/coal-mining-history-resource-centre/

    I've given the original url because it has a number of other useful links.

    Peter

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