Official
Mehmet Şevket Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Elazığ in 1871/72 (AH 1288). On record 1888 to 1903, 15 annual entries.
Archive reference 0091_0175: 347
Life#
Mehmet Şevket Efendi was born in Elazığ in 1871/72 (AH 1288) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Şevket also held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
Work began in Hekimhan in 1882/83, at about 12, with six unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 200 kuruş. Few began so young; fewer than 3 per cent of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known started at 12 or younger. The annual lists begin in 1888/89, with Mehmet Şevket as an official (Memur) in Boran. Next came Akçadağ and Diyarbakır from 1890 to 1894, with a rise to communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in 1892/93, then Sivas from 1894 to 1902. In 1902/03 the lists place Mehmet Şevket in Hekimhan, with a rise to acting director (Müdür Vekili).
Pay rose from 200 kuruş a month in 1888/89 to a peak of 590 in 1902/03, as Müdür Vekili in Hekimhan, when two in three paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1902/03.
Places in order of time#
Each number is a stop: the birthplace, the place of first work, then every place of the annual entries in turn. The year beside an arrow is the first entry at the new place.
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, and the median of the same province for the years in which at least 5 officials were paid in the province of the official's salary that year.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Median, same province | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89 | 200 | 500 | 375 | 500 | 5% |
| 1889/90 | 200 | 500 | 300 | 500 | 7% |
| 1890/91 | 250 | 500 | 285 | 400 | 10% |
| 1891/92 | 250 | 500 | 200 | 450 | 12% |
| 1892/93 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 29% |
| 1893/94 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 30% |
| 1894/95 | 400 | 500 | 380 | 400 | 30% |
| 1895/96 | 400 | 500 | 352.5 | 400 | 30% |
| 1896/97 | 400 | 500 | 350 | 400 | 32% |
| 1897/98 | 400 | 500 | 350 | 400 | 32% |
| 1898/99 | 400 | 500 | 387.5 | 400 | 31% |
| 1899/1900 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 47% |
| 1900/01 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 47% |
| 1901/02 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 49% |
| 1902/03 | 590 | 500 | 595 | 500 | 67% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1882/83AH 1300 | First work | Hekimhan | 200first-salary field |
| 1888 to 1890AH 1306 to 1307 | Memur | Boran | 200 |
| 1890 to 1892AH 1308 to 1309 | Memur | Akçadağ | 250 |
| 1892 to 1894AH 1310 to 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Diyarbakır | 400 |
| 1894 to 1902AH 1312 to 1319 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 to 500 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Müdür Vekili | Hekimhan | 590 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1871/72 (AH 1288)
- Birthplace
- Elazığ
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Telgraf Memuru
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 6 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Middle
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- Yes
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1882/83 (AH 1300)
- Place
- Hekimhan
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 200
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 post (job title and place), same years
Of the 3 officials who held Posta Memuru in Sivas in the same years, Mehmet Şevket Efendi had the highest salary.
- Mehmet Eşref Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 50 officials with entries in Sivas in the same years, Mehmet Şevket Efendi had the 26th highest salary.
- Mustafa Sabri Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Refik Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 720 kuruş
- Ahmet Servet Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ali Mazhar Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hafız Mehmet Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 560 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 223 officials with the title Posta Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Şevket Efendi had the 75th highest salary.
- Mehmed Zülfikar Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Osman Şevki Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ruantuvan Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Mustafa Hakkı Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Abdullah Fikri Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Şevket Efendi had the 1,103rd highest salary of them.
- Abdi Zühtü Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdullah Avni Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Ahmet Cevdet Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 300 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 19 officials born in Elazığ, Mehmet Şevket Efendi had the 7th highest salary.
- Eyüp Kazım Efendiborn 1872/73 (AH 1289); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Rüştü Efendiborn 1872/73 (AH 1289); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Fahri Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Osman Haşim Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ahmet Faik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 114 officials whose first annual entry is for 1888/89 (AH 1306), 113 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Şevket Efendi had the 54th highest salary of them.
- Aziz Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- İsmail Hakkı Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 450 kuruş
- Supun Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Yusuf Ziya Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdullah Mazhar Efendifirst entry in Urfele; highest salary 800 kuruş
All 114 officials whose first annual entry is for 1888/89 (AH 1306)
Full record
Annual entries (15)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Memur | Boran | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Memur | Boran | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Memur | Akçadağ | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Memur | Akçadağ | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Diyarbakır | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Diyarbakır | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Müdür Vekili | Hekimhan | 590 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0091_0175: 347 |
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 (14)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Şevket Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1288 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | elazig | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | elazig | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | telgraf memuru | 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 | Turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Rusdiye Mektebi | 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) | 6 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1300 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1883 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Hekimhan | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 200 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
What the sources named in this table are
- 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.
- 15 annual entries of 15 belong to the saved estimation sample of the paper.
How to read this record: calendar years, years without an annual entry, salaries and sources.
Subjects
- Mehmet Şevket Efendi
- Postal official (Posta Memuru)
- Sivas
- Elazığ
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- 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)