Alexander Long was born in the north, in Greenville, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1816. At age twenty-one, in 1838, Long ventured from Pennsylvania to Cincinnati, Ohio and then on to rural Hamilton County, Ohio. After working several months as a farm hand, Long decided to enhance his rudimentary education at a nearby academy. After graduating, Long became a teacher in the rural schools of Green township, Hamilton County, where he taught for eight years between the years 1840 to 1848. While working as a teacher, Long began studying law, in 1842, under Thomas J. Gallagher, Esq. On October 27 of that same year, 1842, Long married the daughter of one James Sammons of Green township; her name was Cynthia Parker Sammons (1823-1900).