Carl was born in 1761, the youngest son of Johann Sanftleben and his second wife, Anna Dorthea Kruedener.  Carl, his wife Catharina Maria Koester, and their six children lived in the village of Ritzbuettel, adjacent to the town of Cuxhaven on the coast of the North Sea. 

Family records indicate that Carl was prosperous innkeeper in Ritzbuettel, who was also a highly regarded farrier and cow-leech.  Farriers then did far more than shoe horses and care for their hooves; in the days before veterinary schools were common, farriers provided all manner of equine medical and surgical care.  Likewise, cow-leeches provided similar care and treatment, not just for cows, but for other farm animals as well.  This care required knowledge of animal husbandry, anatomy, condition, management, and disease, as well as a variety of medical skills to include bleeding (by both lancet and leech), diagnosis, wound or injury treatment, and the preparation and administration of medicines.

Innkeeper and Animal "Doctor"