Official
Mehmet Şevki Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Elbistan in 1887/88 (AH 1305). On record 1907 to 1909, 2 annual entries.
Archive reference 158-228-451
Life#
Mehmet Şevki Efendi was born in Elbistan in 1887/88 (AH 1305) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was an army captain (yüzbaşı). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Şevki also wrote Arabic, French and Turkish, and held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
At about 18, in 1906/07, Mehmet Şevki began work in Jerusalem (Kudüs), with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 300 kuruş. Both annual entries, for 1907/08 and 1908/09, place Mehmet Şevki in Jerusalem as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru).
The salary never rose above the first in the lists, 300 kuruş a month in 1907/08, as Muhabere Memuru in Jerusalem, when 39 per cent of paid officials earned less. The final annual entry is for 1908/09. An entry in "Sicill-i Ahvâl kayıtlarına göre Elbistanlı memurlar" by ŞEYMA BÜLBÜL (2025) probably refers to Mehmet Şevki, since the name and the birthplace 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.
Born 1887/88 (AH 1305)
First work 1906/07 (AH 1324); 1907 to 1909 (AH 1325 to 1326)
300 kuruş a month; entries in 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907/08 | 300 | 300 | 250 | 39% |
| 1908/09 | 300 | 350 | 250 | 36% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906/07AH 1324 | First work | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300first-salary field |
| 1907 to 1909AH 1325 to 1326 | Muhabere Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1887/88 (AH 1305)
- Birthplace
- Elbistan
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Yuzbasi
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- 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
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1906/07 (AH 1324)
- Place
- Jerusalem (Kudüs)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 300
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.
Sicill-i Ahvâl kayıtlarına göre Elbistanlı memurlar (ŞEYMA BÜLBÜL, 2025). Name as printed: Mehmet Şevki Efendi (H. 1305). PDF page 69.
Probable link: same name and birthplace
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 6 officials with entries in Jerusalem (Kudüs) in the same years, Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.
- Ahmet Naci Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Mehmet Şükrü Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Halil Sıtkı Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- İbrahim Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Mehmet Bekir Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 250 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 420 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 130th highest salary.
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey2 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mustafa Nuri Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Osman Hulusi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Besim Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Hasan Fehmi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 2,211th highest salary of them.
- Abdülkadir Selahaddin Efendiborn 1887/88 (AH 1305); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Abdullah Fehmi Efendiborn 1887/88 (AH 1305); highest salary 400 kuruş
- ABDULLAH LÜTFÜ EFENDİborn 1887/88 (AH 1305); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemal Efendiborn 1887/88 (AH 1305); highest salary 100 kuruş
- AHMET CEMiL EFEndiborn 1887/88 (AH 1305); highest salary 220 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 5 officials born in Elbistan, Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Ali Rıza Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 250 kuruş
- İbrahim Hakkı Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0087_0093, sayfa no:183.)born 1872/73 (AH 1289); highest salary 513 kuruş
- Mustafa Sabri Efendiborn 1870/71 (AH 1287); highest salary 540 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 157 officials whose first annual entry is for 1907/08 (AH 1325), Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 22nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Şükrü Efendifirst entry in Jerusalem (Kudüs); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Abdülkadir Selahaddin Efendifirst entry in Nablus; highest salary 200 kuruş
- Abidin Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 185 kuruş
- Ahmet Ferit Efendifirst entry in Servia (Serfiçe); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ahmet Müeyyed Efendifirst entry in Acre (Akka); highest salary 300 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (2)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907/08AH 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 158-228-451 |
| 1908/09AH 1326 | Muhabere Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 158-228-451 |
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 (15)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Şevki Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1305 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | elbistan | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | halep | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | yuzbasi | 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) | 1 used on this page | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 0 other value | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1324 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1906 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | kudus | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 300 | 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.
- The sources give more than one value for a marked field. Every value is listed.
- 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 Şevki Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Jerusalem (Kudüs)
- Elbistan
- 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)