She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the first child of coal businessman Gilliard Dock and his wife Lavinia Lloyd Bombaugh.

[3] When her mother died in 1876,[4] Lloyd Dock returned home to care for her father and siblings, a task that would occupy her for the next 20 years.

[3] After graduating in 1896,[3] Lloyd Dock became interested in the city's landscape and recreational parks, as well as the health of Harrisburg's residents.

[6] On December 20, 1900, Lloyd Dock gave a speech to the Harrisburg Board of Trade titled "The City Beautiful," or "Improvement Work at Home and Abroad."

This would launch a process of city beautification in Harrisburg, PA, with Lloyd Dock working in partnership with J. Horace McFarland, President of the American Civic Association.