After training with concertmaster Antonio Rolla in Dresden, Schubert studied violin with Charles Philippe Lafont in Paris and began working under the name François Schubert. He played in the Staatskapelle in Dresden from 1823 to 1873.
The son of church composer Franz Anton Schubert (the Elder, 1768–1824), Schubert was married to the singer and actress Maschinka Schubert (1815–1882) who was the daughter of horn player and composer Georg Abraham Schneider. Their daughter was the opera singer Georgina Schubert (1840–1878).