 Raised for a while by an aunt, Jacking eventually had to pass from family to family but finished eighth grade by the age of sixteen and then enrolled in the Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri.Starting in 1889, Daniel Jackling was educated in the mining and metallurgy disciplines at the Missouri School of Mines in Rolla, Missouri, now known as Missouri University of Science and Technology, eventually earning a BS degree.From 1891 until 1893 he taught chemistry and metallurgy as an assistant professor.