In the mid-19th century Skelmersdale was a rural area located 10km west of Wigan on the River Tawd. Today it is also a village. John Barton and his wife Anne lived in Skelmersdale in 1812 when daughter Ellen Barton was born. Ellen Barton gave birth to her first four children in Skelmersdale – Thomas Barton in 1835, Anne Barton in 1843, John Barton in 1843, and Evan Mawdsley in 1845. Residence of Henry Mawdsley in 1841 when he was enumerated at Sefton’s, the home of his father Evan. Today there is no trace of the 19th century family homes in Skelmersdale, Sefton’s, and Grimshaw. A large housing estate sits on the land that was once farmed by Mawdsleys and Bartons.

See also http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Skelmersdale/ and the Skelmersdale Heritage Society.