Am looking for more info about a Howard family that lived, by court records,in Pond street in the 1830's. Margaret(VDL Convict) and John, Mary( VDL Convict) and John( VDL Convict).

From Sheffield Independent 18th October 1834:
Mary Howard a girl of about fourteen, was charged with having robbed a girl about her own age, named Emma Rawlinson, (whose parents reside at Pye-Bank) of a handkerchief, containing a quantity of copper, on Saturday evening, in Castle-street. Emma Rawlinson stated, that as she went along the street, the prisoner put her face to complainant's, saying, "Where, where!" and then ran off; and witness immediately found that her money was gone out of her basket. She gave the alarm, when the the prisoner was pursued by John Langley and Thomas Cartwright. She was chased into Mr. Wiley's yard, where she was taken into custody, and the money found on the ground, the amount corresponding with that stolen. The prisoner persisted in denying the robbery, but was committed.

In November 1835 Mary and Samuel Meek were charged with stealing two table cloths from Mrs Woollin of Lord-street, Park. She was sentenced to a month's hard labour.
In June 1838 she was charged with picking the pocket of John Norton, a pen-knife grinder, of four sovereigns at the All Nations public house on the day after the fair.

In June 1842 Mary was dismissed on a disorderly charge, but was mentioned in the subsequent case of Thomas Whiteley, a man of 24 whose wife was over 40. He had been her husband's apprentice, and when he died, married his wife. He was charged with desertion as he was now cohabiting with the prostitute Mary Howard. The wife had caught them in bed and Mary had violently assaulted her. The justices ordered that Mary be again apprehended, and if she didn't pay a fine of 40 shillings to be sent to the House of Correction for two months. The justices told Whiteley that he had done a very foolish thing to marry a woman so much older than himself, but on examination it turned out that the marriage had been forced and the day after it the wife had married someone else (but that the marriage was void). Whiteley promised to allow his wife 17 shillings a week to maintain herself and four children (two his) and so the case was dismissed. The next case of the day involved Mary's brother John Howard. who was charged with "infesting the market to pick pockets" but had to be remanded as the prosecutor was absent. In October 1842 she was charged with a robbery and stealing a drab shooting coat from Mr Wild's shop in Fargate. In May 1843 with another woman she robbed an inebriated Edward Ogden in the Coach and Horses public house in Water-lane.

In March 1837 John Howard was charged with stealing a shirt from Joseph Jones and was sentenced to be privately whipped at the end of the court session. In October that year he was charged with stealing 12 dozen pocket knives (and 10 unfinished knives) from Benjamin Etchell a cutler of Crookes. His window had been forced overnight. Howard offered the knives to Mr Donally a beerhouse keeper of Spring-street, who reported him.

In February 1838 a quartet of young thieves (Sanderson, Parkin, Linley and Fitzpatrick) were brought up on a charge of felony by Joseph Cowen who kept a hosier's shop in Dun-street. The constable in the case, Bland, stated that the evening of the thefts, he went to the house of Margaret Howard in Pond-street, where he found the four prisoners, who still had many of the stolen articles on them. Bland found much stolen property in the house, MArgaret Howard was stated to be a receiver of property stolen by the gang. Margaret and her son John (about 12 years old) were brought up for possession of numerous articles, and Margaret was ultimately committed for theft of one of the articles.

John was charged with pickpocketing £6 1s from Hannah Gill in Cockayne's shop in October 1842. In passing sentence the chairman remarked that "on four previous occasions Howard had been in prison between the years 1837 and 1842, and all hope that the result of punishment would deter him from crime, was at an end. Punishment had been thrown away upon him. The Court, therefore, was of opinion that he was an improper person to remain in this country, and ordered that he should be transported for ten years." He was sent to Australia on the 635 ton ship Lord Petre which sailed on 7th July 1843 with 237 male prisoners. It arrived in Van Diemen's Land on 15th October 1843. (Margaret had been transported for 7 years in 1838 on the Nautilus, and Mary was transported for 10 years in 1843 on the Woodbridge, a female convict ship)