They lived on a farm in Stockholm township. There, the next year, a healthy daughter came to them and they named her Margaretha Charlotte Marie.

In 1891, Carl sent money to Germany for his father and the Schultz's, Caroline, Ernestine and his step mother and a step sister to come to Denison.

The winter after his father died (1891), Carl bought some sheep wool and they borrowed a spinning wheel. Carl's stepmother (Wilhelm's recent widow) spun yarn so Marie could knot stockings for the children. Margaret remembered having two pair for every day and one for Sundays. The children wore woolen stockings until Marie died. Margaret remembered missing those woolen stockings very much after that because her feet were always cold.

In 1892, when daughter Margaretha was almost exactly two years old, a son was born. They named him Paul Konrad Henry. Soon after this, Carl and Marie moved their family to Sac County, near Odebolt, and in 1894 Henry Frederick was born. Soon after, in 1896, Edward Carl was born. Two years later, Hermann Adam was born. At that time, they had been living on the August Dannenberg farm for eight months. They had moved there in March of 1898.

Carl was a Lutheran and Marie was of the Christian Reformed Church from Germany. They always took the children to church and Sunday school. Marie read the bible often. They also bought a book with Bible stories for the children.

On Saturday morning, March 23, 1901, August was born. On Sunday afternoon the children were alone with Marie and the baby because Carl had to go to a funeral. It started to thunder and lightning. Marie was afraid of storms because of a tornado from a few years earlier. The story goes that it was about 10:30 or 11:00 AM and Marie was home alone with Margaret, Paul and baby Henry. Suddenly, It got pitch dark. Marie lit the lamp and picked up baby Henry and opened the trap door. Paul and Margaret were afraid to go first, so Marie started down. Margaret remembers that it didn't take long for her and Paul to follow. The tornado took the hay and grain stacks on their farm. They had been living in Sac County since 1894. Later, in March of 1898, they had moved to the August Dannenberg farm.

Now, with a storm brewing and Marie alone with her children, including 1-day-old August, Carl was shopping in Odebolt. That night, Marie got so sick that Charlie Miller, who was staying at their house and working for room and board, went to Kessler's place (Carl and Marie had no phone). They lived less than 1/4 mile up the hill. He had them go on horseback for a doctor in Odebolt (about 6 miles away). Ed Kessler made 6 or 8 trips to Odebolt that week.

Marie lived until the next Friday evening at 1:30 AM (Actually, Saturday morning, March 30, 1901). The neighbor's wives had been taking care of Marie and the children. They would go in shifts, two would be there during the day and two at night. Marie's brother Henry and his sister Hanna had come to help. When Marie knew she would not live much longer, she had asked for Reverand Simson to give her communion. This was on Thursday. She said goodbye to each of her children, gave each of them a kiss, and told them to be good. She asked Carl to let Henry and Hanna take August because they had no children and would love to have some. She also said to Carl "I know you can't stay single, but promise me you won't be a stepfather to our children". He never was. Marie was buried on April 1, 1901 at the country cemetary in Sac County.

After Marie died, her sister Elizabeth came from Terre Haute, Indiana (where she had been a deaconess for five years), to stay with the family for a couple months (May and June). Her intended father-in-law thought it was not right for her to stay with a widower, so the Dannenberg's 18-year-old daughter, Rozina, started coming in the mornings and staying until after the work was done in the evenings. She walked across the pasture (about 1/5 mile each way) and Margaret remembered her as a "dear, sweet girl". When the husking of the corn was finished at the end of March, she spent two days there cleaning, washing and baking. She was there until April 1, 1902, when Karl got remarried.

Carl was strict. They were told something but once - the next time came the strap. Margaret remembered the sting of that strap. Carl loved to sing with the children and, on many winter evenings, would cut corn cob dollars for the children to play with. Carl lived to be 88.

Carl and Marie raised a happy family. They were both hard working and very thrifty. The family had many friends and would visit or have visitors often. On winter evenings, several families would go to a neighbor's house and the men would play cards. The women would knit or sew on something. They would have lunch together and go home happy.

When Marie died, the children missed her very much. Margaret remembers that when she was lonely and sad she would ask God why he took her mother away. But Margaret also always believed that only God knows best and, as she grew older, hoped to meet her parents and brothers in that heavenly home.

Within a few years after Marie died, Carl's sisters Carolyn and Ernestine found husbands and were married.