Below: Photograph of David Starr Jordan at age sixteen, taken on the family farm in Gainesville, New York, 1867.

David Starr Jordan was born on January 19, 1851, in Gainesville, New York. His father, Hiram Jordan, was born in Moriah, New York, his mother Huldah Hawley, was born in Whitehall, New York. (1) It is said David Starr Jordan chose “Starr” for his middle name for two reason; to honor his mother's great admiration for the writings of Unitarian and Universalist minister, Thomas Starr King and for his love for astronomy. (2) He was raised on a farm in Gainesville, New York, where early on Jordan showed his love for nature. (3) His father, Hiram Jordan, was active on behalf of all educational movements, serving for a long time as a trustee of the public school of his district, and as a teacher, locally noted for his skill in instruction and maintenance of order. His mother, Huldah Hawley Jordan, was also a successful teacher, which enabled his parents, for some time after their marriage, to maintain on the farm, a private school with a few resident pupils. (4)

Footnotes

(1) Wylie, Theophilus Adam (1890). Indiana University : Its History From 1820, When Founded, To 1890 : With Biographical Sketches of Its Presidents, Professors and Graduates : and a List of its Students From 1820 To 1887. Indianapolis : Wm. B. Burford.

(2) Jordan, David Starr (1922) The days of a man: being memories of a naturalist, teacher, and minor prophet of democracy. Volumes 1-2. World Book Company. Yonkers-on the Hudson. New York.

(3) Wylie, Theophilus Adam (1890). Indiana University : Its History From 1820, When Founded, To 1890 : With Biographical Sketches of Its Presidents, Professors and Graduates : and a List of its Students From 1820 To 1887. Indianapolis : Wm. B. Burford.

(4) Jordan, David Starr (1922) The days of a man: being memories of a naturalist, teacher, and minor prophet of democracy. Volumes 1-2. World Book Company. Yonkers-on the Hudson. New York.