Official
Mehmet Şevki Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Rize in 1851/52 (AH 1268). On record 1869 to 1893, 25 annual entries. Death recorded 1893/94.
Archive reference 0065_0107; 211
Life#
Born in Rize in 1851/52 (AH 1268), Mehmet Şevki Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a chief clerk (başkatip). Schooling took four years, at a school for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi).
Mehmet Şevki began work in the Tahrirat Kalemi in Rize in 1868/69, at about 16, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 120 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1869/70, places Mehmet Şevki in Rize, the birthplace, in the council clerkship (Meclis Kitabeti), where the entries run to 1875/76. Next came Samsun in 1876/77, as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). From 1877 to 1893 the annual entries place Mehmet Şevki again in Rize, with a rise to chief communications official (Başmuhabere Memuru).
Pay rose from 120 kuruş a month in 1869/70 to a peak of 500 in 1877/78, as Başmuhabere Memuru in Rize, when 36 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, 25 years of salary come to 111,600 kuruş, 70 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. After the last annual entry, for 1892/93, the list of 1893/94 (AH 1311) gives the status word Vefat (death).
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 1851/52 (AH 1268); First work 1868/69 (AH 1285); 1869 to 1876 (AH 1286 to 1292)
First work as Tahrirat Kalemi
120 to 150 kuruş a month; entries in 7 years
Death recorded in the annual list of 1893/94 (AH 1311): the word Vefat, not a date of 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869/70 | 120 | 600 | 2% | |
| 1870/71 | 120 | 600 | 1% | |
| 1871/72 | 120 | 550 | 1% | |
| 1872/73 | 120 | 550 | 2% | |
| 1873/74 | 120 | 500 | 2% | |
| 1874/75 | 120 | 535 | 2% | |
| 1875/76 | 150 | 530 | 4% | |
| 1876/77 | 280 | 582.5 | 410 | 9% |
| 1877/78 | 500 | 560 | 600 | 36% |
| 1878 | 500 | 600 | 600 | 33% |
| 1878/79 | 500 | 600 | 600 | 34% |
| 1879/80 | 475 | 500 | 500 | 42% |
| 1880/81 | 475 | 500 | 570 | 43% |
| 1881/82 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 42% |
| 1882/83 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 39% |
| 1883/84 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 40% |
| 1884/85 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 39% |
| 1885/86 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 39% |
| 1886/87 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 39% |
| 1887/88 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 38% |
| 1888/89 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 39% |
| 1889/90 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 40% |
| 1890/91 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 41% |
| 1891/92 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 42% |
| 1892/93 | 475 | 500 | 600 | 43% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1868/69AH 1285 | Tahrirat Kalemifirst work | Rize | 120first-salary field |
| 1869 to 1876AH 1286 to 1292 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 to 150 |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Muhabere Memuru | Samsun | 280 |
| 1877 to 1893AH 1294 to 1310 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 500 to 475 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Death recorded | ||
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1851/52 (AH 1268)
- Birthplace
- Rize
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Baskatip
- Death recorded
- 1893/94 (AH 1311)the year of the annual list with the word Vefat, not a date of death
Education
- Primary
- Sıbyan Mektebi (4 years)school for young children (primary school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- NoShown as in the flag of the paper. The qualification column of the recovered extract gives 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
- 1868/69 (AH 1285)
- Place
- Rize
- First job as worded
- Tahrirat Kalemi
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 17
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 120
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 120
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 Rize in the same years, Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 6th highest salary.
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 440 kuruş
- Ahmet Raif Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Aziz Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,175 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 106 officials with the title Başmuhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 100th highest salary.
- Aziz Efendi17 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Haşim Zihni Efendi17 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmed Seyfi Efendi17 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- İsmail Şükrü Efendi16 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mehmet Hilmi Efendi16 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
Same school
Of the 746 officials with Sıbyan Mektebi among their schools, 745 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 511th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Daim Efendiborn 1851/52 (AH 1268); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendiborn 1851/52 (AH 1268); highest salary 650 kuruş
- Ahmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1851/52 (AH 1268); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ali Riza Beyborn 1851/52 (AH 1268); highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Berdos [Bedros] Efendiborn 1851/52 (AH 1268); highest salary 800 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 9 officials born in Rize, Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Mustafa Sevki Efendiborn 1859/60 (AH 1276); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendiborn 1867/68 (AH 1284); highest salary 400 kuruş
- İsmail Hakkı Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Muhsin Rüştü Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 116 officials whose first annual entry is for 1869/70 (AH 1286), Mehmet Şevki Efendi had the 101st highest salary.
- Ahmet Tevfik Efendifirst entry in Baghdad (Bağdat); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Ziya Efendifirst entry in Kastamonu; highest salary 625 kuruş
- Ali Hamit Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ali Nevzad Beyfirst entry in Aydın; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
- Ali Riza Efendifirst annual entry 1869/70 (AH 1286); highest salary 400 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (25)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869/70AH 1286 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1870/71AH 1287 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1871/72AH 1288 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1872/73AH 1289 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1873/74AH 1290 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1874/75AH 1291 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 120 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Meclis Kitabeti | Rize | 150 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Muhabere Memuru | Samsun | 280 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1880/81AH 1298 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1882/83AH 1300 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1885/86AH 1303 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1886/87AH 1304 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1887/88AH 1305 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Rize | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0107; 211 |
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 (24)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Şevki Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1268 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | rize | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Rize | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Rize | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Trabzon | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | trabzon | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | baskatip | 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 | Sibyan Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 1 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1285 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1868 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Rize | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | Rize | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | Rize | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | trabzon | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Tahrirat Kalemi | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 17 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 120 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 120 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Status | ||
| Death recorded under the year (AH) | 1311 | 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.
- 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.
- 18 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
- Mehmet Şevki Efendi
- Chief communications official (Başmuhabere Memuru)
- Rize
- School for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Council clerkship (Meclis Kitabeti)
- 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)