Official
Bekir Sami Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Sinop in 1857/58 (AH 1274). On record 1877 to 1905, 25 annual entries.
Archive reference 97_22; 43
Life#
Born in Sinop in 1857/58 (AH 1274), Bekir Sami Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Bekir Sami had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi), and held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
Work began in the telegraph service (Telgraf) in Sinop in 1875/76, at about 17, with two unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 500 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1877/78, places Bekir Sami in İnceburun as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Bekir Sami then moved back to Sinop, the birthplace, from 1878 to 1889, with a rise to a post in the Belediye Kitabeti, then Garzan, Arhavi and Gümüşhane from 1889 to 1897. The last posts were in Istanbul from 1897 to 1905, with a rise to Mersule Basmemuru.
Pay rose from 500 kuruş a month in 1877/78 to a peak of 1,800 in 1904/05, as Mersule Basmemuru in Istanbul, when 95 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over 25 years the salaries add up to 217,944 kuruş, 1.4 times what an official on the median salary earned. The last annual entry is for 1904/05. An entry in "II. Abdülhamid Dönemi'nde Sinoplu Devlet Adamları (Sicill-i Ahval defterlerine göre ..." by ZEHRA DENİZ (2019) probably refers to Bekir Sami, since the name, the birthplace and a place of service agree.
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.
1878 to 1889 (AH 1296 to 1306)
No annual entry for 1878 (AH 1295) before it.
Belediye Kitabeti 1878 to 1881 (AH 1296 to 1298); Muhabere Memuru 1882 to 1889 (AH 1300 to 1306)
380 to 560 kuruş a month; entries in 10 years
No annual entry for 1881/82 (AH 1299).
1892/93 (AH 1310)
No annual entry for 1890 to 1892 (AH 1308 to 1309) before it.
600 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
1897 to 1905 (AH 1315 to 1322)
1,021 to 1,800 kuruş a month; entries in 8 years
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1877/78 | 500 | 560 | 410 | 36% |
| 1878/79 | 560 | 600 | 46% | |
| 1879/80 | 560 | 500 | 58% | |
| 1880/81 | 560 | 500 | 58% | |
| 1882/83 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 18% |
| 1883/84 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 18% |
| 1884/85 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 18% |
| 1885/86 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 19% |
| 1886/87 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 19% |
| 1887/88 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 19% |
| 1888/89 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 21% |
| 1889/90 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 42% |
| 1892/93 | 600 | 500 | 400 | 59% |
| 1893/94 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 60% |
| 1894/95 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 60% |
| 1895/96 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1896/97 | 540 | 500 | 540 | 61% |
| 1897/98 | 1,021 | 500 | 91% | |
| 1898/99 | 1,021 | 500 | 91% | |
| 1899/1900 | 1,100 | 500 | 91% | |
| 1900/01 | 1,100 | 500 | 91% | |
| 1901/02 | 1,100 | 500 | 91% | |
| 1902/03 | 1,370 | 500 | 93% | |
| 1903/04 | 1,370 | 475 | 93% | |
| 1904/05 | 1,800 | 450 | 95% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Telgraffirst work | Sinop | 500first-salary field |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhabere Memuru | İnceburun | 500 |
| No annual entry: 1878 (AH 1295) | |||
| 1878 to 1881AH 1296 to 1298 | Belediye Kitabeti | Sinop | 560 |
| No annual entry: 1881/82 (AH 1299) | |||
| 1882 to 1889AH 1300 to 1306 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Garzan | 500 |
| No annual entry: 1890 to 1892 (AH 1308 to 1309) | |||
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Arhavi | 600 |
| 1893 to 1897AH 1311 to 1314 | 3. Müdür | Gümüşhane | 600 to 540 |
| 1897 to 1905AH 1315 to 1322 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,021 to 1,800 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1857/58 (AH 1274)
- Birthplace
- Sinop
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school); place of the school as worded: Sinop
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 2 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
- 1875/76 (AH 1292)
- Place
- Sinop
- First job as worded
- Telgraf
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 18
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 500
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 500
Notes from the record
- Merit and competence grade (recorded code)
- 1
Named in scholarly works#
No link between a work and an official has been accepted. Each entry was found by fixed rules on the name and the recorded fields, and says what it rests on.
II. Abdülhamid Dönemi'nde Sinoplu Devlet Adamları (Sicill-i Ahval defterlerine göre: 1879-1909 ) (ZEHRA DENİZ, 2019). Name as printed: Bekir Sami Efendi. Printed page 33, PDF page 56.
Probable link: same name and birthplace; served in the place the work covers
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 9 officials with entries in Sinop in the same years, Bekir Sami Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Hayri Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 950 kuruş
- Ahmet Tevfik Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 950 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Said Hulusi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hüseyin Avni Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 380 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,311 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Bekir Sami Efendi had the 40th highest salary.
- Mustafa Enver Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- Ömer Nuri Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Tahir Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Nikola Yunani Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 1,350 kuruş
- Mehmet Nazım Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 1,300 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Bekir Sami Efendi had the 108th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet İzzet Efendiborn 1857/58 (AH 1274); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet İzzet Efendiborn 1857/58 (AH 1274); highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendiborn 1857/58 (AH 1274); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Tayyip Efendiborn 1857/58 (AH 1274); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ahmet Vasfi Efendiborn 1857/58 (AH 1274); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 2 officials born in Sinop, Bekir Sami Efendi had the highest salary.
- Hafız Mehmet Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 300 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 118 officials whose first annual entry is for 1877/78 (AH 1294), Bekir Sami Efendi had the 10th highest salary.
- Abdürrezzak Talat Efendifirst entry in Diyarbakır; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendifirst entry in Sofia (Sofya); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Şefik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ali Ferit Efendifirst entry in Ruse (Rusçuk); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Aziz Mahmut Efendifirst entry in Niš (Niş); highest salary 600 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (25)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhabere Memuru | İnceburun | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Belediye Kitabeti | Sinop | 560 | Interior (Dahiliye) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 97_22; 43 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Belediye Kitabeti | Sinop | 560 | Interior (Dahiliye) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 97_22; 43 |
| 1880/81AH 1298 | Belediye Kitabeti | Sinop | 560 | Interior (Dahiliye) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 97_22; 43 |
| 1882/83AH 1300 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1885/86AH 1303 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1886/87AH 1304 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1887/88AH 1305 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Muhabere Memuru | Sinop | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Garzan | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Arhavi | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | 3. Müdür | Gümüşhane | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | 3. Müdür | Gümüşhane | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | 3. Müdür | Gümüşhane | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | 3. Müdür | Gümüşhane | 540 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,021 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,021 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,370 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,370 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Mersule Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 97_22; 43 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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 (25)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Bekir Sami Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1274 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | sinop | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Sinop | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Sinop | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Kastamonu | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | kastamonu | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | esnaf | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Nationality or community | Turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Rusdiye Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Place of the school | Sinop | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 2 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1292 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1875 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Sinop | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | Sinop | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | Sinop | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | kastamonu | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Telgraf | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 18 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 500 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 500 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Other recorded values | ||
| Merit and competence grade (recorded code) | 1 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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.
- Linked personnel workbook
- The original personnel workbook, from which selected fields on background and first work are taken.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 22 annual entries of 25 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
- Bekir Sami Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Sinop
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Mersule Basmemuru
- 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)