Anigran,
From Census 1881, your Scottish-born Donald has A.M.C., a daughter 9 years old, born Scotland.
On C1901 Anne Shearer aged 28 is recorded as Thurso-born.
On C1901 the 60 yr old Donald Shearer in Liverpool is recorded as been born in Caithness, the county in the north-east tip of Scotland.
Thurso is a town lying in Caithness.
So you decide on the odds of that been your Donald.
He could have only been in Liverpool on business.
A more racey possibility is that he has gone bust.. on C1881 he is Comm Merchant ( could be mistake for corn merchant)
On C1901 he is Commission Agent... now that term covered a range of activities... one of them was Bookmaker.
And it looks as though son George did not reap the benefits of the son of a wealthy man... on C1901 he is a Draper's Assistant down in Devon (well age and birthplace fits ! )
Me, a Northumbrian, does not know of Sefton Hall in Northumberland. There is an old building in Tweedmouth (Berwick-upon-Tweed) called Sefton Hall that is now a rsidential-care home.
Thinking of slips of the pen, there still is a very fine hall at Seaton Delaval, that was owned by the noble family of Delavals.
I think there is a Sefton Hall in Devon.
I am inttrigued how you know that the two Annes and Helen were in Northumberland in 1901... C1901 index has no county or "census" place for them !
And on a fishy commercial note, there was plenty of money in Kippers !
Michael
