EXHIBIT 23.1
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                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS



The Board of Directors
NBT Bancorp Inc.:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-8 of NBT Bancorp Inc. relating to the registration of shares for the NBT
Bancorp Inc. Non-employee Directors' Restricted and Deferred Stock Plan filed
under the Securities Act of 1933 of our audit report dated January 27, 2003,
relating to the consolidated balance sheets of NBT Bancorp Inc. and subsidiaries
as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the related consolidated statements of
income, changes in stockholders' equity, cash flows and comprehensive income for
each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2002 which report
appears in the December 31, 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K of NBT Bancorp Inc.,
incorporated by reference herein.

Our report refers to the Company's adoption of changes in accounting for
goodwill and other intangible assets.


                                          /S/ KPMG   LLP
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Albany, New York
July 29, 2003