Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Speaking / Presenting
• Other Speciality

Claire Gene Esker is the owner of Past Forward Family History, a genealogy research firm in Highwood, Illinois specializing in Polish American and Polish research. She holds an MSc with Merit from the University of Strathclyde in Genealogical, Paleographic, and Heraldic Studies, as well as a bachelor's degree in political science with a focus in comparative politics. She also holds a Professional Learning Certificate in Genalogical Studies from the International Institute for Genealogical Studies in American Records and Methodology. She is currently pursuing a second PLCGS in Eastern European records. She is also a ProGen graduate. 

Claire has experience both as a genealogist and as a speaker, transcriber, project lead, and board member. She is currently serving as the Secretary of the Board for the Polish Genealogical Society of America, where she also serves as a volunteer researcher and led the 1920-1950 St. Hedwig's Orphanage Census Transcription Project. Additionally, she is currently serving a term as the Education Chairperson of the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

While Claire specializes in Polish and Polish American records, which she worked with extensively at Strathclyde, she is happy to take on clients interested in their family history in other areas of the world, such as Great Britain and the United Kingdom, the Midwestern United States, and Scotland. She has also completed projects on Armenian and Jewish family history. 

Claire is a member of the Register of Qualified Genealogists and the Illinois Jewish Genealogical Society. 

Publications/Media
Esker, Claire. “Women’s Ethical Wills: Preserving Family Knowledge Across Time and Culture.” Morasha, newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, II (Summer 2020): 6-7.
Esker, Claire. “The Polish Women’s Alliance of America Insurance Records: An Invaluable Resource for Researching and Understanding Polish American Women.” Rodziny, the journal of the Polish Genealogical Society of America, 1 (Winter 2021): 25-27.  
Esker, Claire. “You Should Dwell Here: Polish Catholic Records for the Jewish Genealogist.” Morasha, newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, II (Summer 2022): 8-9.
Esker, Claire. “Making the Jump from the United States to Poland or Tips for Locating the Ancestral Village.” Rodziny , journal of the Polish Genealogical Society of America, 3 (Summer 2024): 14-16.
 

Lectures
Polish Beneficial Records in Genealogy

Repositories
Newberry Library, Chicago Family History Library - Wilmette

Research Time Periods

• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century

Languages
Read French, basic spoken Mandarin Chinese; currently maintaining a study of Polish. 

Honorifics/Credentials
MSc, PLCGS, QG

Certificates
Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies in American Records, International Institute for Genealogical Studies, Ontario Canada. 
Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies in Methodology, International Institute for Genealogical Studies, Ontario, Canada. 

Affiliations
Register of Qualified Genealogists, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, Polish Genealogical Society of America, Illinois State Genealogical Society. 

Degrees
MSc Genealogical, Paleaographic, and Heraldic Studies (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow), BA Political Science (Comparative Politics Focus), (Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin)