Jacob Long was born around 1848 in North Carolina. Long was a farmer who resided in Alexander County, North Carolina. Long was charged with larceny on March 15, 1875, and sentenced to five years in the North Carolina State Penitentiary. Long was recorded in the North Carolina State Penitentiary's Descriptive Register for the Years 1869-1884 as prisoner number 1151. In the descriptive register, Long's race is noted as "colored." Long was twenty-seven years old when he was arrested. Long was noted as possessing no formal education, meaning he could not read or write at that time. During his incarceration, Long was leased to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company to work on railroad construction. He died while working on the Western North Carolina Railroad on July 12, 1876.