Alexis Muston was born in Torre Pellice, Piedmont, Italy, on 11 February 1810.

Muston studied theology in Lausanne and Strasbourg, graduating in 1834 with a bachelor's thesis about the origins of the Waldensians movement.

Muston was initially a priest of the Waldensian Evangelical Church in Rodoretto, a hamlet in the municipality of Prali, Italy.

In 1831, Muston became friends with the German playwright Georg Büchner, as both were students in Strasbourg.

Muston travelled to Darmstadt to research his thesis in 1833, and Büchner served as his translator.