Howie's father, Robert, died at the Crichton Institution in Dumfries, a private lunatic hospital, when Thomas was 27.

Previous to settling in Falkirk the Howie family lived in Hurlford, where they owned the renowned Hurlford Fireclay Works (until it was bought by Armitage Shanks), which produced pottery, bricks, chimneys, garden ornaments and enamelled sanitary ware (lavatories, baths, urinals etc.)

A supporter of the Unionist Party, Thomas Howie was a Justice of the Peace and elected a Stirling County councillor for Falkirk, vice-chairman of the Parish Council, as well as chairman of the Landward Committee.

The local newspaper at the time remembered him as a "bright and cheery man", and notes that he "took a deep interest in parochial affairs and was particularly sympathetic towards the deserving poor".

On his death, his share of the brickworks business was valued at £12,000, which is equivalent to over £2,300,000 in today's terms (relative GDP per capita).