Durham Mining Museum - William Fife

	Individual Details		Individual Details

William Fife

Age:	44
Died:	8^th Sep 1880
Accident:	8^th Sep 1880 2:20 AM
Year Born:	abt. 1836
Colliery:	Seaham
Company:	Marquis of Londonderry
Occupation:	Stoneman
Notes:	address: 6, Church Street ; killed in the 1880 explosion (ignition caused by safety lamp or shot firing)
Buried:	[not known]
Category:


Description

The text of the report from the Mines Inspector into this disaster is available in the Disaster Reports section of this website.

Extracts from the Inquest into this death.


Census Data

1881 Census

Address: 5 Post Office Street, Seaham, Co. Durham
(Ref: RG11 / 4971 / 151 / 20)

Name	Age	Rel	Mar	Occupation	Where Born	Born
FIFE, Sarah	42	Head	Wid		NBL: Westmoor ((Durham))	1839
FIFE, Michael	20	Son	Unn	Brick Maker	DUR: Seaham	1861
FIFE, Ellen	16	Dau	Unn		DUR: Seaham	1865
FIFE, Ann	13	Dau	Unn	Scholar	DUR: Seaham	1868
FIFE, Sarah J.	10	Dau	Unn	Scholar	DUR: Seaham	1871
FIFE, Thomas W.	8	Son	Unn	Scholar	DUR: Seaham	1873
FIFE, Elizabeth	6	Dau	Unn	Scholar	DUR: Seaham	1875

Please note: the census extracts shown here are our 'best guess match' to the person shown on this page and is not intended to be definitive — only knowledge of the family would allow this.


Memorial: 1880 Seaham Colliery Disaster


Memorial

This is a low resolution image for web display, if you would like to have a higher resolution image, then please us quoting reference T-00152-00-0002 and we will make the image available on a temporary page for you to access.

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Names in this memorial picture
Name	Died	Age	Born
Henry ELSBURY	8^th Sep 1880	70	1810
William FIFE	8^th Sep 1880	44	1836
Jacob FLETCHER	8^th Sep 1880	50	1830
Thomas FOSTER	8^th Sep 1880	17	1863
Richard GEORGE	8^th Sep 1880	31	1849
Dominic GIBBON	8^th Sep 1880	46	1834
Thomas GIBSON	8^th Sep 1880	37	1843
Robert GRAHAM	8^th Sep 1880	28	1852
Anthony GREENBANKS	8^th Sep 1880	27	1853
Thomas GREENWELL	8^th Sep 1880	29	1851
John GREY	8^th Sep 1880	51	1829
John GROUNDS	8^th Sep 1880	19	1861
Thomas GROUNDS	8^th Sep 1880	27	1853


Compensation Settlement

Residence:	5, Post Office Street
Widow, &c.	Sarah Fife
Widow Age:	43
Children:	4
Legacies:	£5 0s. 0d.
Fortnightly Allowance:	£1 6s. 0d.

Fatal Accident Benefits.
Accidental Death of Unmarried Member under 18 years of age	£12	0	0
Accidental Death of Members above 18 years of age leaving no dependent relative	23	0	0
Accidental Death of Members above 18 years of age leaving dependent relatives	5	0	0
Widows or other dependent relatives	5s. per week
Each child (if under age) of members accidentally killed	2s. per week
Each child (if under age) of widowers, &c., extra for guardianship	1s. 6d. per week


Related Articles

Pub. Date	Article (Newspaper)
09 Sep 1880	Terrible Colliery Explosion (The Times)
10 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
13 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
14 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
15 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
15 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
16 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
17 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
18 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
18 Sep 1880	Our Illustrations, The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Graphic)
18 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
20 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
21 Sep 1880	Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
23 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
24 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
30 Sep 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
01 Oct 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
02 Oct 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
02 Oct 1880	Mr. T. H. M. Stratton (The Graphic)
04 Oct 1880	Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
06 Oct 1880	Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
07 Oct 1880	The Seaham Explosion (The Times)
07 Oct 1880	Letters to the Editor, The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
14 Oct 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
20 Oct 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
21 Oct 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
13 Nov 1880	Home News, The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Graphic)
14 Dec 1880	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
06 Jan 1881	The Seaham Colliery Explosion (The Times)
01 Apr 1933	Coal Dust Dangers (The Science and Art of Mining)


Further Reading

Mines Inspectors Report into the 1880 Disaster (C. 2924)
Durham Mining Disasters, c.1700 - 1950s by Maureen Anderson, Published by Wharncliffe Books, 2008, ISBN 1-845630-73-4
Explosions in Coal Mines by W. N. & J. B. Atkinson, published in 1886
Troubled Seams - the Story of a Pit and its People by John E. McCutcheon, published in 1955 by J. Greenwood and Sons


Sources

1881 Census — taken 3rd April, 1881
Memorial in Christ Church Churchyard, Seaham
Report from The Miners' Permanent Relief Fund detailing the members, payments, dependents etc. for the 1880 Seaham Colliery Disaster. Published 2nd October, 1880.


Researchers

Email	Researcher	Date	Interest
	Jenny Joyce	07 Nov 2008	William Fife is my husband's 3xg-grandfather

If you are researching William Fife (e.g. for family tree purposes) and you would like to hear from others with the same interest then please complete the details in the following form. We will show the information you provide on this page so that you can be contacted.

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