Howie was born in Riccarton, Ayrshire, on 8 April 1856 to Robert and Bethia Howie, into a wealthy industrial family who had been active in the Covenanting movement. He was born at the family home, Newhouse, an estate house nearby the fireclay mine which the family owned. There he was brought up alongside his cousin, who would become the mining magnate John Howie. The house is now a residential care home. Howie's father, Robert, died at the Crichton Institution in Dumfries, a private lunatic hospital, when Thomas was 27.
Career
He and his wife settled in Falkirk where he became a partner in Campbell & Co Fireclay Works and coal mine, Roughcastle. He later became owner of the business. Previous to settling in Falkirk the Howie family lived in Hurlford, where they owned the renowned Hurlford Fireclay Works, which produced pottery, bricks, chimneys, garden ornaments and enamelled sanitary ware The family owned much of the town, including Marchmont Place, Salisbury Place, Collier Row, Office Row, Chapel Cottages, Skerrington Row and Howie's Square. They also owned small mining villages, including Hemphill. 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.
Family
Howie married Barbara Picken, sister of the Town Clerk of Glasgow, and had six children: Margaret, Robert Wyllie, Bethia, Martha, Barbara and Jean. His sons attended the High School of Glasgow and his daughters St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh.
Death and legacy
At a Water Board outing he was taken ill and never recovered, dying in 1927. 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'. Thomas Howie is buried in Falkirk Cemetery. 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.
Street named after him
A street, Howie Place, in Falkirk, is named after him. It is nearby the site of the brickworks he once owned.
Family
Thomas Howie was the cousin of industrialist John Howie
Thomas Howie was a distant cousin of writer John Howie
Thomas Howie was the great-grandfather of actor Robbie Coltrane
