In the morning, President-Elect Lincoln departs Springfield on the Great Western Railroad. He is traveling to visit his stepmother Sarah Bush Lincoln, "who resides near Charleston, in Coles county." A newspaper reports that Lincoln "expects to return" to Springfield on the evening of February 1.Illinois Journal (Springfield), 31 January 1861, 2:1.

Arrives Charleston on freight train shortly after 6 P.M., having changed trains at Mattoon. Charles H. Coleman, Abraham Lincoln and Coles County, Illinois (New Brunswick, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1955), 191.

In the evening, Lincoln arrives in Charleston, where he spends the night at home of Illinois State Senator Thomas A. Marshall. Many friends visit with Lincoln during his stay. Illinois Journal (Springfield), 2 February 1861, 2:3; Charles H. Coleman, Abraham Lincoln and Coles County, Illinois (New Brunswick, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1955), 209-10.