Caroline Branham (c. 1764–1843) was an enslaved housemaid and seamstress of George and Martha Washington. She was married to Washington's hired groomsman Peter Hardiman, whose slaveholder was David Stuart. Branham gave birth to nine children, seven with Hardiman. Her son, Austin (1798–1879), and her ninth child, Lucy, are believed to have been a child of the plantation; the boy's and girl's father was George Washington Parke Custis. Branham served the Washington family and their many visitors, ensuring they resided comfortably.

She was at George Washington's bedside when he died in 1799 and with Martha when she died in 1802. After Martha's death, her enslaver was George Washington Parke Custis, Martha's grandson. In the 1820s, Jared Sparks interviewed her for his biography of Washington, which she did in exchange for the freedom of her grandson, a toddler at the time, Robert H. Robinson. He was freed at the age of 21 after eleven years of apprenticeship.

Branham was born into slavery in 1764 at Mount Vernon. Her mother's enslaver was Daniel Parke Custis, who died in 1757 without having prepared a will. Martha received a life interest in one-third of his estate, including the enslaved people. Their two surviving children received two-thirds of the estate. Branham was then owned by the dower estate of Martha Washington. In practice, her slaveholders were George and Martha Washington after their marriage in 1759. Further Martha Washington § Dower slaves, estate, death, and interment

Branham began work each day before sunrise and worked after the sun went down. She and other housemaids, like Molly and Charlotte, were responsible for cleaning and maintaining the Washington's mansion and other buildings on the plantation. In the early morning, she lit fireplaces in the mansion to warm the rooms, including the occupied bed chambers, before the family and any guests awoke. Her work included: washing clothes and linens, dusting furniture, cleaning floors, and other household duties. She cared for family members and visitors, which included using bed warmers on cold nights, providing jugs of water for washing, emptying chamber pots, lighting fires and candles, and making beds. A house bell system, built in the 1780s, summoned domestic workers to the piazza, dining rooms, or bedrooms. At times Branham coordinated activities, such as readying the mansion when the Washingtons returned to the plantation from Philadelphia.

I beg you will make Caroline put all the things of every kind out to air and Brush and Clean all the places and rooms that they were in…

— Martha Washington to her niece Fanny, June 1794

On the first, second, and third floors, bed chambers were frequented by visiting relatives, friends, and strangers. Washington claimed that Mount Vernon was a "well resorted tavern" with overnight guests two-thirds of the time. He said, "scarcely any strangers who are going from north to south, or from south to north do not spend a day or two at it." Washingtons provided luxurious accommodations with furniture, china, soap, wine, cheese, and other foods from Europe. House maids prepared bed chambers for visitors with fresh linens and jugs of water for washing. They emptied chamber pots and wash basins.

Branham was also a seamstress who made clothing for the Washingtons' enslaved people. The women who worked in the mansion, like Branham, wore ankle-length gowns made of inexpensive fabric. They would also wear aprons, shoes with buckles, stockings, a type of corset, and caps over their hair if they interacted regularly with family members and visitors.