Lincoln concludes for plaintiff in Casey v. Casey. Lincoln writes Gov. Matteson recommending pardon for William D. Davis, sentenced to three years for manslaughter in July 1850, and whom Lincoln then defended (see July 1, 1850). Abraham Lincoln to Joel A. Matteson, 10 January 1853, CW, 2:187-88.

In afternoon Gov. Matteson is inaugurated. At night Ralph Waldo Emerson speaks on "The Anglo-Saxon" in House of Representatives. Browning, Diary.