Frank Repass Brown lived near Rural Retreat, Virginia. He was born March 27, 1887, the son of Michael Dallas Brown and Emily V. Repass. He married Virginia Umberger. He died in 1973 and was buried at Marvin Methodist Church Cemetery, Wythe County.

Frank Brown loved family and local history, spending much of his adult life studying and recording local history. The following story of the Sluss massacre was photocopied from a large loose-leaf binder containing his memoirs. Although undated, it was possibly written about 1953 because he wrote this account "175 years or more after the tragedy" and speculated the massacre of the Jared Sluss family took place in April or May 1778 or 1779.

It should be noted that there is much speculation and various theories concerning the date of the massacre to be found today in books and publications. Frank Brown was the great-grandson of a survivor, Polly Sluss Sharitz, and grandnephew of another survivor, Mary Sluss Creggar. Emily V. Repass Brown, Frank's mother, lived near both survivors. She was 11 years old when her Grandmother Polly Sharitz died and was 32 years old when her Aunt Mary Creggar died. Frank Brown's conclusions regarding the tragedy come not only from oral history from the family--mainly from his mother -- but from a considerable amount of investigation on his part. For these reasons, his written history merits inclusion with other accounts of the event.

At present, most of Frank Brown's records are in the possession of his niece, Martha Brown DeBord who lives in western Wythe County.

- Beverly Repass Hoch, June 1997