The following table denotes the casualties from the 16 February 1883 mining accident which occurred at the Diamond Coal Mine in Grundy County Illinois.
| Name | Nationality | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson, John | Scotch | 28 |
| Atkins, John | Welsh | 24 |
| Atkins, Samuel | Welsh | 31 |
| Babington, A. | Scotch | 28 |
| Boyd, John | Scotch | 33 |
| Brookman, John | German | 50 |
| Butskousky, F. [Frank] | Polad | 21 |
| Butskousky, George | Poland | 32 |
| Carroll, James | Irish | 33 |
| Chiller, Carl | German | 30 |
| Costigan, Thomas | Irish | 23 |
| Cullock, John | Poland | 48 |
| Damm, August | German | 43 |
| Damm, Ernest | German | 35 |
| Denbrosky, A. [Anton] | Poland | 17 |
| Denbrosky, John | Poland | 41 |
| Eadie, Henry | Scotch | 23 |
| French, John | Scotch | 20 |
| Fulton, Alex | Scotch | 33 |
| Gootes, Joseph | Poland | 24 |
| Groter, D. | German | 38 |
| Haake, August | German | 30 |
| Harper, Robert | Scotch | 30 |
| Holton, Andrew | ||
| Huber, Chris. | German | 16 |
| Huber, John | German | 43 |
| Huber, Lewis | German | 15 |
| Johnson, John | Swede | 44 |
| Kae, Fritz | German | 32 |
| Kalenburg, A. | German | 30 |
| Keil, John | ||
| Klessner, H. [Henry] | German | 22 |
| Klessner, William | German | 26 |
| Kloss, Frank | Poland | 50 |
| Lenz, Jacob | German | 30 |
| Mathey, George | ||
| Mattern, Joseph, Jr | German | 26 |
| Mattern, Joseph, Sr | German | 54 |
| Matts, Frank | German | 53 |
| McBride, Daniel | Irish | 20 |
| McCulley, William | Scotch | 28 |
| McQuiston, A., Sr | Scotch Irish | 46 |
| McQuiston, A., Jr | Scotch Irish | 19 |
| McQuiston, Robert | Scotch Irish | 23 |
| McQuiston, William | Scotch Irish | 14 |
| Motto, Frank | ||
| Murray, Frank | Poland | 24 |
| Nesbit, Hugh | Scotch | 18 |
| Neyski, Martin | Poland | 23 |
| Niel, John | Scotch | 34 |
| Ochenick, Martin | Poland | 23 |
| Ocup, Franks | ||
| Orr, Alex | Scotch | 31 |
| Pearson, Issac | English | 23 |
| Pearson, James | English | 19 |
| Pearson, John | English | 13 |
| Polenas, John | German | 28 |
| Rabbart, August | German | 32 |
| Rabbart, R. | ||
| Ramsey, Hugh | Scotch Irish | 23 |
| Redmond, Matthew | Irish | 13 |
| Redmond, P. C. | Irish | 42 |
| Rogers, Thomas | Scotch Irish | 32 |
| Russeck, Joseph | ||
| Schatzl, Blazius | German | 34 |
| Scholtz, William | German | 44 |
| Sekora, William | German | 30 |
| Smith, John | Scotch | 23 |
| Smith, Joseph | German | 26 |
| Stewart, Adam, Jr | Scotch | 21 |
| Stewart, Robert | Scotch | 14 |
| Stumps, Simon | German | 33 |
| Sullivan, L. | Irish | 25 |
| Unger, Herman | German | 31 |
| Wall, P. H. | Irish | 25 |
Diamond Mine Disaster Gallery
Diamond Mine Disaster Monument
Diamond Mine Disaster Monument
Diamond Mine Disaster Monument
Diamond Mine Disaster Monument
Diamond Mine Disaster Monument
Plaque Commemorating the Diamond Mine Disaster
Diamond Mine Disaster Monument
Source: Nationality and Age extracted from Statistics of Coal Production in Illinois, 1883, A Supplemental Report of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics, by John S Lord, Secretary; Springfield, ILL: HW Rokker, Printer and Binder. Photos submitted by Mark Hahn.
My GGG Grandfather was John Huber. He drowned in the Diamond Mine along with 2 sons, Chris age 16 and Lewis age 15. I wonder where his wife Elizabeth Berrang Huber went afterwards. Their oldest son Carl was working in a different mine when this tragedy happened. He left the area years later in 1899 and went to Hoven, South Dakota, but his mother did not move with him. There were other children. If anyone knows what mother Elizabeth did after the deaths of her husband and sons and where mother Elizabeth is buried, please email me. [email protected]. Thank you.
I am very touched that this memorial is here for the men who lost their lives. My family (Balleria) is from northern Italy and worked in the area (I’m working to find the relatives), and John Balleria (1867-1919) was killed in what I believe may have been a mining accident, since he died young of a fractured skull. I have a very tender heart for these people.
This is Willard Bolinger from Kansas City and an auto worker for 44 years and a Labor History major who has traveled the country doing labor history research. Now a a lot of information is online! We have had a radio program for 30 years called Heartland Labor Forum. I have notes book from my travels that I cherish and lots of pictures and the many working people I encountered and local museums, library staff who helped a lot. Email is [email protected]
Hi,
My name is Tom Egan. P. H. Wall the last person on the memorial list was my great gran uncle. Daniel McBride also on the list was Paddy Walls cousin. I have a letter written in 1924 by Thomas Wall, Paddys brother, to another cousin in Australia in which he mentions the Diamond Disaster, Paddy and Daniel. He also said that they were taken out to America by an uncle Johnny and an auntie Bridget and we believe that they were also Walls.I also have reason to believe that Paddy Wall was married.We have reason to believe that there was more than one Wall family there at the time of the disaster and that we have many long lost cousins that we would love to meet. Any light you may be able to shed on this issue would be greatly appreciated. I visited the memorial about 10 years ago.