Carolyn Mills (maiden name: Jones) was born around February 1837 in South Carolina. She eventually moved to Texas, and she married Roger Quarles Mills on January 7, 1855. They had at least four children: Nannie, born around 1859; Carry, born around 1861; Charles, born around 1867; and Fannie, born around 1873. They lived in Navarro County, Texas, and her husband worked as a lawyer. By 1860, they owned $13,000 of real estate and $6,000 of personal property.
Her husband served in the Confederate army and later served in Congress and the United States Senate. She accompanied her husband to Washington, D.C. He retired from politics in 1899, and they settled in Corsicana, Texas. She died there on October 28, 1907.