When Thomas Tyre Howe was born on 4 April 1850, in New York, United States, his father, John G. Howe, was 44 and his mother, Harriet Mourhess, was 25. He married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Purvis on 14 September 1873, in Scotland, Jasper, Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Lindley, Steuben, New York, United States in 1850 and Mount Pleasant Township, Scotland, Missouri, United States in 1880. He died on 22 March 1910, in Clay Township, Adair, Missouri, United States, at the age of 59, and was buried in Willmathsville, Adair, Missouri, United States.