EXHIBIT 23.1


                         Consent Of Independent Auditors


Board of Directors
Peoples Financial Corporation
Massillon, Ohio


We consent to the  incorporation by reference in the  Registration  Statement of
Peoples Financial  Corporation on Form S-8 of our Independent  Auditors' Report,
dated November 4, 1997, on  the consolidated  statements of financial condition 
of  Peoples  Financial Corporation  as of September 30, 1997 and  1996,  and the
related consolidated  statements of earnings,  changes  in  shareholders' equity
and cash flows for the two years in the period then ended.



                               Grant Thornton LLP



April 27, 1998