Crystal City birth 1886

[Erato]

Other than Hood and Murdy, what surnames might be related to them?

Crystal City, Missouri is a small town which was entirely devoted to glass manufacturing until recent times.  It is located just south of Saint Louis.  Someone heading west from Baltimore by train might well wind up in Saint Louis and seek work there.  Was Franklin involved in the glass industry when he returned to England?  You could try the Crystal City public library to see if they have any town records.

http://www.crystalcitymo.org/history/index.html
http://jeffersoncountyonline.org/libraries/CrystalCity/CrystalCityLibrary.htm

Crystal City, Texas is more off of the beaten track - southwest of San Antonio, near the Mexican border.  It is a farming and ranching community which today is a major spinach producer.  It also has a public library.

https://librarytechnology.org/libraries/library.pl?id=24709

[Milliepede]

Was Franklin involved in the glass industry when he returned to England?

Can't quite read occupation clearly in 1901 - engineer then ? chemical?

Ah mechanical engineer.

[slf28]

Hello both, sorry for late reply

Erato, thanks for the info regarding (both) Crystal City. The only other family name might be Bradley (the maiden name of Franklin's mother, Frances).  As far as I can tell, as Milliepede mentions, Franklin was indeed a mechanical engineer, possibly working with steam engines, which may well have been of use in Crystal City Missouri. I believe they left the UK because he had been declared bankrupt in 1884 and may have been escaping his creditors, so that could of been a great place to lie low for a couple of years. Thank you both once again

[slf28]

Just as an update, I have been in touch with Crystal City public library (Missouri) who, despite their best efforts (many thanks to Tania Laughlin, Director), were unable to trace any records of the birth.  It seems that at that time, there wasn't a church there (nor any saloons!) but she did provide details of all the Jefferson County Hoods from the 1870 census so there may still be a link somewhere as yet undiscovered.