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The research ledger.

The hours of research and building behind Skeleton Files, logged in the open: the date, the file, what was done, and where the number comes from. That includes private family research, some of it from before Skeleton Files had a name. The public case files are named. Private family files and client work are counted, never named.

219.75hours logged
181.5research
3.75study
29.5building Skeleton Files
5research and business
≈74AI research assistant hours

Where the hours went

Hours by week

Every entry

DateHoursFileWhat was doneRead inSource
Oct 14, 20261File 002: TartariaFile 002 published: every test and source reviewed for the public case page—Session record
Oct 14, 20263.25Building Skeleton FilesInvestigation add-ons, payments and prices; the public research ledger built and linked across the site—Session record
Oct 12, 20261.75Building Skeleton FilesGift cards and the social media plan—Session record
Oct 11, 20263.75Professional studyStudied a regional records guide for Texas and the South Central states; started a personal reference guide—Session record
Oct 10, 20264.5Research and businessFile 001's public claims corrected to match the sources; professional membership and phone line added to the site—Session record
Oct 9, 20260.5Research and businessOne checklist across every open case—Session record
Oct 8, 20264Building Skeleton FilesMailing address, backups and business setup—Session record
Oct 7, 202616Building Skeleton FilesPayments, checkout and the client intake system built—Session record
Oct 6, 20262.75Building Skeleton FilesPackages and prices decided—Session record
Oct 5–6, 20267.25Private family filesPrivate family file (2 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Sep 26, 20261File 001: Padre BallíA lead on copies of the Matamoros archive at the University of Texas—Session record
Sep 11, 20260.75Building Skeleton FilesWebsite pages and previews—Session record
Sep 10, 20261.75File 001: Padre BallíThe Matamoros archive's reply; the 1944 Texas Supreme Court case State v. BalliSpanishSession record
Sep 7–13, 202611.25Private family filesPrivate family file (5 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Sep 7, 20261.75File 002: TartariaResearch sweep across six lines of evidence; the case vault built—Session record
Sep 3, 20263.5File 001: Padre BallíFollow-ups on the Ballí records, and work on a private family fileSpanishSession record
Sep 2, 20265.75File 001: Padre BallíConsultation with a Reynosa records expert; letters to the archives; family tree workSpanishSession record
Sep 1, 20263File 001: Padre BallíThe Reynosa marriage register read page by page; the priest's own 1807 signature found on cameraSpanishSession record
Aug 31 – Sep 6, 202616.5Private family filesPrivate family file (6 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Aug 31, 20260.25File 001: Padre BallíCorrespondence with the archdiocesan archive in MonterreySpanishSession record
Aug 29–30, 20265.75Private family filesPrivate family file (2 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Aug 29, 20265File 001: Padre BallíEvery published birth year traced to its source; the two Texas markers; the 1828 will file at the Texas General Land Office; the Matamoros burial book searched on cameraSpanishSession record
Aug 17–22, 202610.25Private family filesPrivate family file (3 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Aug 16, 20261.25Private family filesSecond private family file: case vault built; two family lines carried back two more generations—Session record
Aug 10–16, 20269Private family filesPrivate family file (3 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Aug 9, 20260.75Building Skeleton FilesBrand chosen: Skeleton Files—Session record
Aug 8, 20260.25Building Skeleton FilesProject set up: the case vault and working folders—Session record
Aug 7, 20261Private family filesA second private family file opened: obituaries and cemetery records found for two family lines, and a family story checked against the records—Session record
Aug 3–9, 202624.75Private family filesPrivate family file (6 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Jul 27 – Aug 2, 202617.5Private family filesPrivate family file (5 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Jul 20–25, 202649.5Private family filesPrivate family file (6 working days): records research, family tree and research log—Session record
Jul 19, 20264.5Private family filesPrivate family file (1 working day): records research, family tree and research log—Session record

AI research assistants

Alongside these hours, AI research assistants ran 468 search, reading and checking jobs since Aug 29, 2026: about 74 hours of machine time, about 40 of it research. They are listed here for the record and are not added to the hours above. Every finding they bring back is checked against the record before it is used. Assistants run from the private family files' own sessions are not measured here.

How the hours are counted

  • Session hours come from the working-session records: the time between one step and the next, with pauses of up to an hour counted as work (reading a record, filming, waiting on a long search). Longer breaks are not counted.
  • Hours in the private family files come from those files' own session records, with the same rule, and are shown one row per week.
  • When two files were open in the same hour, that hour is counted once; time shared with a Skeleton Files session stays in that session's row.
  • Time worked outside the sessions (reading at home, filming, archive visits) is not counted here yet. When it is added from James's own log, those rows will be marked “Own log”.
  • Private family files and client work are never named; each is shown under its own single heading. No living person is named on this page apart from James.

Updated Oct 14, 2026.