Official
Mehmet Memduh Bey
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Cerkezistan in 1851/52 (AH 1268). On record 1871 to 1882, 12 annual entries. Death recorded 1882/83.
Archive reference 5_58; 113
Life#
Mehmet Memduh Bey was born in Cerkezistan in 1851/52 (AH 1268) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Circassian (Cerkes) by nationality. Schooling took seven years, at the Sam-i Serif Mektebi Emeviye; Mehmet Memduh also wrote Turkish and knew Arabic and Persian.
At about 14, in 1865/66, Mehmet Memduh began work in Istanbul, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 15 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1871/72 to 1881/82 places Mehmet Memduh in Istanbul, first in the documents office (Evrak Kalemi), from 1874/75 in the office of the corresponding secretary (Mektubi Kalemi).
The salary went from 350 kuruş a month in 1871/72 to 600 in 1878/79, the peak, in the Mektubi Kalemi in Istanbul, when 47 per cent of paid officials earned less. After the last annual entry, for 1881/82, the list of 1882/83 (AH 1300) gives the status word Vefat (death).
Career and salary#
Log scale: equal steps are equal ratios. The median of the same title is drawn for the years in which at least 5 officials with that title had a salary.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1871/72 | 350 | 550 | 18% | |
| 1872/73 | 350 | 550 | 15% | |
| 1873/74 | 300 | 500 | 12% | |
| 1874/75 | 330 | 535 | 200 | 15% |
| 1875/76 | 400 | 530 | 400 | 23% |
| 1876/77 | 400 | 582.5 | 300 | 17% |
| 1877/78 | 400 | 560 | 400 | 16% |
| 1878 | 400 | 600 | 450 | 17% |
| 1878/79 | 600 | 600 | 400 | 47% |
| 1879/80 | 600 | 500 | 380 | 61% |
| 1880/81 | 600 | 500 | 380 | 60% |
| 1881/82 | 600 | 500 | 450 | 60% |
Paid less: the share of the other officials with a salary that year who earned less.
Point at a year for its salary, title, place and the median of all officials paid that year. Choose a row of the table to mark its years in the charts and its stop on the map.
| Years | Title | Place | Salary (kuruş a month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1865/66AH 1282 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 15first-salary field |
| 1871 to 1874AH 1288 to 1290 | Evrak Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 to 300 |
| 1874 to 1882AH 1291 to 1299 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 330 to 600 |
| 1882/83AH 1300 | Death recorded | ||
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1851/52 (AH 1268)
- Birthplace
- Cerkezistan
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Cerkes
- Death recorded
- 1882/83 (AH 1300)the year of the annual list with the word Vefat, not a date of death
Education
- Other named school
- Sam-i Serif Mektebi Emeviye (7 years)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- No
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- Arabic
- izhar
- Persian
- Gulistan
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1865/66 (AH 1282)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 15
Recorded with#
Officials who share a place, a job title, a school, a birthplace or the year of the first annual entry. Ranks compare the highest monthly salary of each official.
Same place, same years
Of the 524 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Memduh Bey had the 413th highest salary.
- Emil Efendi12 shared years; highest salary 9,000 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey12 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey12 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Emin Bey12 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi12 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 31 officials with the title Mektubi Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Memduh Bey had the 23rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Nazmi Bey9 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ali Bey9 shared years; highest salary 1,400 kuruş
- Mehmet Arif Bey9 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Ahmet Haydar Bey8 shared years; highest salary 1,600 kuruş
- Hafız Kemal Bey8 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 17 officials born in Cerkezistan, Mehmet Memduh Bey had the 9th highest salary.
- Unnamed official (0081_0143, sayfa no:283.)born 1852/53 (AH 1269); highest salary 1,850 kuruş
- Hafiz Huseyin Sabri Efendiborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 950 kuruş
- Haci Mehmet Şükrü Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Hasan Beyborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Osman Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 650 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 62 officials whose first annual entry is for 1871/72 (AH 1288), Mehmet Memduh Bey had the 42nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Hasib Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,380 kuruş
- Marat Beyefendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Mehmet Ali Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Aleksan Hurşit Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Edvar Galyar Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (12)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1871/72AH 1288 | Evrak Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1872/73AH 1289 | Evrak Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1873/74AH 1290 | Evrak Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1874/75AH 1291 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 330 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1880/81AH 1298 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_58; 113 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Recovered annual personnel extract
- The merged annual personnel file recovered for the replication of the first paper. Annual entries are taken from it for every official it holds.
Sources and original values (13)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Memduh Bey | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1268 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | cerkezistan | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Nationality or community | Cerkes | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Schooling | ||
| School | sam-i serif Mektebi Emeviye | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1282 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1865 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | istanbul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 15 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Status | ||
| Death recorded under the year (AH) | 1300 | Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy); Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy) |
What the sources named in this table are
- Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy)
- A copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read for the title wording of each year. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death.
- Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy)
- A second copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read in the same way. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death. Two copies that agree are one piece of evidence, not two.
- Earlier annual personnel extract
- The detailed annual personnel file of October 2024. An official found only in this file keeps the years, titles and salaries it gives.
- Recovered annual personnel extract
- The merged annual personnel file recovered for the replication of the first paper. Annual entries are taken from it for every official it holds.
- Personnel attributes extract
- The detailed personnel file of September 2025, read for personal details such as birth, schooling and first work.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
How to read this record: calendar years, years without an annual entry, salaries and sources.
Subjects
- Mehmet Memduh Bey
- Office of the corresponding secretary (Mektubi Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Cerkezistan
- Sam-i Serif Mektebi Emeviye
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Biography of an Ottoman official (Osmanlı memurunun biyografisi)
- Career and pay (memuriyet ve maaş)
- Ottoman history (Osmanlı tarihi)
- Ottoman bureaucracy (Osmanlı bürokrasisi)
- Ottoman officials (Osmanlı'da memurlar)
- Ottoman personnel registers (Sicill-i Ahvâl defterleri)
- Ottoman registers (Osmanlı defterleri)