Official
Mehmet Refik Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Tosya in 1866/67 (AH 1283). On record 1883 to 1893, 9 annual entries.
Archive reference 54_201; 399
Life#
Born in Tosya in 1866/67 (AH 1283), Mehmet Refik Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community. Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Work began in Iskilib in 1880/81, at about 15, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 237 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1883/84, with Mehmet Refik as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Tosya, the birthplace. Mehmet Refik then moved to Çankırı in 1884/85, then back to Tosya from 1886 to 1890. The last posts were in Kastamonu from 1890 to 1893.
Pay rose from 237 kuruş a month in 1883/84 to a peak of 400 in 1890/91, as Muhabere Memuru in Kastamonu, when 28 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over nine years the salaries add up to 33,180 kuruş, 61 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The last annual entry is for 1892/93. Mehmet Refik probably has an entry in "Sicill-i Ahval Defterleri'ne göre Tosyalı memurlar (1879-1909)" by BETÜL MERVE HAMAMCI (2022) (the name, the birthplace, the archive register and page 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.
Not on the map, as no position is recorded: stop 2 (Iskilib).
Born 1866/67 (AH 1283)
Iskilib not on the map
First work 1880/81 (AH 1298)
1886 to 1890 (AH 1304 to 1307)
No annual entry for 1885/86 (AH 1303) before it.
237 kuruş a month; entries in 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883/84 | 237 | 500 | 400 | 6% |
| 1884/85 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 18% |
| 1886/87 | 237 | 500 | 400 | 6% |
| 1887/88 | 237 | 500 | 400 | 6% |
| 1888/89 | 237 | 500 | 400 | 8% |
| 1889/90 | 237 | 500 | 400 | 9% |
| 1890/91 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 28% |
| 1891/92 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 29% |
| 1892/93 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 29% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880/81AH 1298 | First work | Iskilib | 237first-salary field |
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Muhabere Memuru | Çankırı | 380 |
| No annual entry: 1885/86 (AH 1303) | |||
| 1886 to 1890AH 1304 to 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 |
| 1890 to 1893AH 1308 to 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Kastamonu | 400 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1866/67 (AH 1283)
- Birthplace
- Tosya
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1880/81 (AH 1298)
- Place
- Iskilib
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 237
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 Ahval Defterleri'ne göre Tosyalı memurlar (1879-1909) (BETÜL MERVE HAMAMCI, 2022). Name as printed: Mehmet Refik Efendi. PDF page 36.
Probable link: same name, birthplace and register and page of the archive reference; 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 3 officials with entries in Tosya in the same years, Mehmet Refik Efendi had the lowest salary.
- Abdulvahab Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,169 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Refik Efendi had the 1,037th highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Halil Habib Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 3,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey9 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Enver Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Refik Efendi had the 1,725th highest salary of them.
- Abbas Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülmuttalip Muhlis Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 700 kuruş
- Abdurrahman Sezai Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Asaf Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet Kazım Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 5 officials born in Tosya, Mehmet Refik Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.
- Osman Hilmi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendiborn 1872/73 (AH 1289); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Hasan Sabri Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ömer Hilmi Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 250 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 80 officials whose first annual entry is for 1883/84 (AH 1301), Mehmet Refik Efendi had the 70th highest salary.
- Abdurrahman Faik Beyfirst entry in Tirana (Tiran); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdürrezzak Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ali Cenap Efendifirst entry in Galata; highest salary 550 kuruş
- Hafiz İbrahim Rüştü Efendifirst entry in Kastamonu; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Hasan Talat Efendifirst entry in Galata; highest salary 650 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (9)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Muhabere Memuru | Çankırı | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1886/87AH 1304 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1887/88AH 1305 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Tosya | 237 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Muhabere Memuru | Kastamonu | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Muhabere Memuru | Kastamonu | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Kastamonu | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 54_201; 399 |
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 Refik Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1283 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | tosya | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | kastamonu | 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) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1298 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1881 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | iskilib | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 237 | 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.
- 9 annual entries of 9 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 Refik Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Tosya
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Kastamonu
- 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)