Carolyn Bertha Shelton (née Skiff; October 1876 – July 26, 1936) was the long-serving private secretary of the governor of Oregon and United States senator George Earle Chamberlain.

Skiff and her siblings, Nolan and Mabel, were placed in the care of her older brother Orrin and his wife, Elizabeth.

A year later, local attorney John W. Shelton became the legal guardian of the children after unsuccessfully prosecuting her father's murder.

[2] A widow still in her teens, Carolyn Shelton became a stenographer at a law firm, Starr, Thomas and Chamberlain.

[2][4] Shelton excelled in the office, so much so that she was entrusted with drawing up legal documents, a task often assigned to young lawyers.

[6] Shelton was still serving as Chamberlain's private secretary when he was elected to the United States Senate in 1908.

He was to be sworn in as Senator on March 4, 1909, in Washington, D.C. Chamberlain left Oregon on February 27 even though his term was not slated to end until March 1, so that he could make the cross-country trip to Washington, D.C., and arrive on time to be sworn in with the rest of the incoming class of Senators.