Jordan was born in Gainesville, New York, and grew up on a farm in upstate New York.
His parents made the unorthodox decision to educate him at a local girls' high school.
His middle name of Starr does not appear in early census records, and was apparently self-selected; he began using it by the time he was enrolled at Cornell.
He said it was in honor of his mother’s devotion to the minister Thomas Starr King.

He was inspired by Louis Agassiz to pursue his studies in ichthyology.
He was part of the pioneer class of undergraduates at Cornell University, graduating in 1872 with a master's degree in botany.

He wrote his autobiography The Days of a Man, "During the three years which followed [my entrance as a "belated" freshman in March 1869], I completed all the requirements for a degree of Bachelor of Science, besides about two year of advanced work in Botany.
Taking this last into consideration, the faculty conferred on me at graduation in June 1872, the advanced degree of Master of Science instead of the conventional Bachelor's Degree...it was afterward voted not to grant any second degree within a year after the Bachelor had been received.
I was placed, quite innocently, in the position of being the only graduate of Cornell to merge two degrees into one."

His master's thesis was on the topic "The Wild Flowers of Wyoming County".

Jordan obtained a medical degree, M.D., from Indiana Medical College in 1875.
He wrote in his autobiography that while teaching at Indianapolis High School, "I was also able to spend some time in the Medical College, from which, in the spring of 1875, I received the (scarcely earned) degree of Doctor of Medicine, thought it had not at all been my intention to enter that profession."
Jordan taught comparative anatomy at the college the following year (1876); the Indiana Medical College in Indianapolis opened in 1869 and closed its doors in 1878.

Jordan married Susan Bowen (1845-1885) in Peru, Massachusetts on March 10, 1875 and she died in 1885 after 10 years of marriage.
They had three children, Edith Monica (1877–1965), Harold Bowen (1882–1959), and Thora (1884–1886).
Jordan later married Jessie Knight (1866–1952) in 1887.
Jordan and his second wife had three additional children, Knight Starr (1888–1947), Barbara (1891–1900), and Eric Knight (1903–1926).
Jordan was born in Gainesville, New York, and grew up on a farm in upstate New York. His parents made the unorthodox decision to educate him at a local girls' high school. His middle name of Starr does not appear in early census records, and was apparently self-selected; he began using it by the time he was enrolled at Cornell. He said it was in honor of his mother’s devotion to the minister Thomas Starr King.
He was inspired by Louis Agassiz to pursue his studies in ichthyology. He was part of the pioneer class of undergraduates at Cornell University, graduating in 1872 with a master's degree in botany. 
He wrote his autobiography The Days of a Man, "During the three years which followed [my entrance as a "belated" freshman in March 1869], I completed all the requirements for a degree of Bachelor of Science, besides about two year of advanced work in Botany. Taking this last into consideration, the faculty conferred on me at graduation in June 1872, the advanced degree of Master of Science instead of the conventional Bachelor's Degree...it was afterward voted not to grant any second degree within a year after the Bachelor had been received. I was placed, quite innocently, in the position of being the only graduate of Cornell to merge two degrees into one."
His master's thesis was on the topic "The Wild Flowers of Wyoming County".
Jordan obtained a medical degree, M.D., from Indiana Medical College in 1875. He wrote in his autobiography that while teaching at Indianapolis High School, "I was also able to spend some time in the Medical College, from which, in the spring of 1875, I received the (scarcely earned) degree of Doctor of Medicine, thought it had not at all been my intention to enter that profession." Jordan taught comparative anatomy at the college the following year (1876); the Indiana Medical College in Indianapolis opened in 1869 and closed its doors in 1878.
Jordan married Susan Bowen (1845-1885) in Peru, Massachusetts on March 10, 1875 and she died in 1885 after 10 years of marriage. They had three children, Edith Monica (1877–1965), Harold Bowen (1882–1959), and Thora (1884–1886). Jordan later married Jessie Knight (1866–1952) in 1887. Jordan and his second wife had three additional children, Knight Starr (1888–1947), Barbara (1891–1900), and Eric Knight (1903–1926).
David Starr Jordan