William Lewis & The 1886 Mine Report

W William Lewis & The 1886 Mine Report

History of Mine Reports

Following the Avondale Mine disaster in 1869, Pennsylvania passed the modest "Mine Safety Act of 1870" from which annual mine reports were born.  These reports include detailed information on mine accidents leading to death or serious injury.  The 1886 Inspectors of Mines Report can be viewed in full for free via the Penn State University Library Archives.  William Lewis worked at the Henry Colliery which was owned by the Lehigh Valley Coal Company in the Second Anthracite District which begins on page 45 in the report.

Interesting Highlights from Report

I enjoyed skimming through the total report and if you're interested in more context of the mines at the time I encourage you to take a peek at your leisure.  

In 1886, the Henry Colliery saw 33 fatal accidents leaving 16 widows and 38 orphans. There were 137 non-fatal accidents of which 96 were considered serious.  This equates to one death per 400 mine employees and an accident rate of one in 95.  

Below are just two tidbits related to the death of our ancestor below.  Again the section of the report for Henry Colliery starts on page 45.

Condition of the Mines

Condition of the Mines, p. 47

It's hard to wrap one's mind around the mindset for human safety...  "A great number of fatal accidents recorded could be avoided by the victims themselves by using more care and less hurry to accomplish their day's work."

List of Fatal Accidents

William Lewis, Track Layer, Age 28, Wife 1, Children 2,
 Henry Colliery, Plains Township, PA
Date of Accident February 25, 1886, p. 60

William Lewis, age 25, c. 1884

Was smothered to death at the bottom of air shaft. The cribbing of the shaft had given out, and in repairing same a large quantity of mud and timber had gone down the shaft after repairing the cribbing.  Lewis and four or five other med went to the bottom to remove and stow back the refuse which was in the shaft; while in the act of doing so a rush took place in the shaft of mud, which caught Lewis with the above result.