Her parents had migrated to the area at different times from Massachusetts, and had seven other children, six surviving; among them was Susan, who later became a noted physician in Cayuga County.
[2] Amy studied at Cornell University and the Philadelphia School of Design for Women,[3] and was a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
[3] In that year[5] she began work a professor at Wheaton College in Massachusetts,[3] ultimately becoming the head of the art department.
[7] After leaving Wheaton she taught for a time at Wells College, where she was at one point acting head of the Department of Art.
[5] A miniature watercolor-on-ivory portrait of Dorothy Gifford, titled A College Girl, is currently owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.