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Lynnhaven Parish, Virginia was the first parish of the Anglican Church established in America. Originally encompassing all of Princess Anne County, Lynnhaven Parish's boundaries were fixed by Act of the Virginia Colonial Assembly in 1642. After the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in the wake of the Revolution, the population of Lynnhaven Parish shifted away from Old Donation, its former center, in favor of Kempsville to the west. In 1843, Bishop William Meade consecrated a new Lynnhaven Parish church, Emanuel, under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Outpaced by the growth of other regions in Virginia, for most of its ensuring history Emanuel would serve the rural population surrounding the southern Virginia town of Kempsville.

The work at hand is an indexed, facsimile copy of the actual parish register for Lynnhaven Parish for the period 1838-1913. Researchers will find records of births, baptisms, confirmations, communicants, marriages, and burials for Emanuel Church, exactly as they were recorded by church officials during these 75 years. The late genealogist Alice Granberry Walter, who copied the original register for publication, also added a comprehensive surname index to the thousands of entries in its sometimes hard-to-read contents. Mrs. Walter also provides an informative Introduction that outlines the history of the parish.