Sources disagree about the identity of [Joseph and Clement] Vann's biological father:
- Gary E. Moulton of the University of Nebraska, suggests Clement Vann.
- William H. Vann Jr. in his self-published genealogy book, Vann Generations with Cherokee Origins from John Joseph Vann & James Clement Vann I of NC, SC, TN, GA ca 1750-1989, identified Joseph Vann.
- Virginia Vann Perry chooses another James Vann, and
- Belinda Pierce, a contemporary genealogy expert, thinks Joseph John Vann was the father.
- "According to the experts at the Vann House in Chatsworth, Georgia, Vann's father is unknown."
