and Ashton-under-Lyne; and more than two-thirds of the collieries in that tract of country are still the property of Messrs. Lees, Jones, and Co., and of Messrs. William Jones, and Co. The late Joseph Jones, Esq., died July 26, 1845, at the age of eighty-eight years, and was father of Joseph Jones, Esq., J.P., cotton spinner and manufacturer, one of the principal proprietors of land in the township of Oldham, first returning ofiicer of the borough, late of Wallshaw House, Oldham, now of Spring Bank, Severn Stoke, Worcestershire. William Jones, Esq., J .P., of Falcon House, King-street, colliery owner and landed proprietor, who was returning officer and the first mayor of the borough, is also a son of the late Mr. Jones. Joseph Jones, junior, Esq., J.P., of Hathershaw House, is a son of Joseph Jones, Esq., of' Severn Stoke.
Tythe Barn Fold, situated betwixt King-street and George-street, was the residence of another family of the Cleggs prior to I765; for, at that period, it was the abode of Mr. Thomas Clegg, hat manufacturer. His relative, John Clegg, Esq., who was engaged in the hatting trade, died September 1, 1794. The present representative of this family, is Kay Clegg, Esq., solicitor, now of Cowhill Lodge, Oldham. ,
Prlors was an ancient estate stretching from School-croft, towards Fog-lane. The name was probably derived from a family of the same designation. In 1688, a Jonathan Kaye, gentleman, was one of the principal inhabitants of this place, and he is believed to have been an ancestor of Mr. Thomas Kaye, fustian manuf`acturer, of Dolstile, living in 1794. Priors, however, had become, in 1713, the residence of Mr. Joseeph Clegg, and in 1759, of Mr. Isaac Clegg, ancestor of the Cleggs, now of Mumps.
Whitehead Lane End, now Westwood, was, for a considerable period, the residence of the Whiteheads.
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