Amy Elizabeth Tivey was born on 31 May 1872 in Dudley, Worcestershire. Her parents were Francis Tivey, a tailor, and Lucretia Brown. However, Francis abandoned the family when Amy was still a baby, and she was raised by her mother, who worked as a tailoress.
Amy married her widowed first cousin, William Henry Tivey, on 19 May 1897 in Dudley. William worked for the Department of Works in India, and the couple spent several years there. They had one son. Following their return to England they settled in Surrey.
Amy died on 7 September 1924 in Camberley, Surrey, aged 52; William died on 24 August 1930 in Lowestoft, Suffolk, aged seventy.