Official
Mehmet Eşref Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Lovech (Lofça) in 1873/74 (AH 1290). On record 1892 to 1907, 15 annual entries.
Archive reference 90_248; 493
Life#
Mehmet Eşref Efendi was born in Lovech (Lofça) in 1873/74 (AH 1290) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was an imam. Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Eşref also wrote French as well as Turkish and held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
Mehmet Eşref began work in Bafra in 1887/88, at about 15, with five unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 400 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1892/93, places Mehmet Eşref in Sinop as a postal official (Posta Memuru). The annual lists then follow Mehmet Eşref to Sivas from 1893 to 1906. The last post was in Merzifon in 1906/07, with a rise to a post in the accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi).
Pay rose from 400 kuruş a month in 1892/93 to a peak of 540 in 1906/07, in the Muhasebe Kalemi in Merzifon, when 61 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1906/07.
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 1873/74 (AH 1290)
First work 1887/88 (AH 1305)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892/93 | 400 | 500 | 350 | 29% |
| 1893/94 | 400 | 500 | 350 | 30% |
| 1894/95 | 400 | 500 | 380 | 30% |
| 1895/96 | 400 | 500 | 352.5 | 30% |
| 1896/97 | 400 | 500 | 350 | 32% |
| 1897/98 | 400 | 500 | 350 | 32% |
| 1898/99 | 400 | 500 | 387.5 | 31% |
| 1899/1900 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 31% |
| 1900/01 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 31% |
| 1901/02 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 32% |
| 1902/03 | 450 | 500 | 400 | 46% |
| 1903/04 | 450 | 475 | 400 | 47% |
| 1904/05 | 450 | 450 | 400 | 48% |
| 1905/06 | 450 | 475 | 400 | 47% |
| 1906/07 | 540 | 450 | 400 | 61% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1887/88AH 1305 | First work | Bafra | 400first-salary field |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Posta Memuru | Sinop | 400 |
| 1893 to 1906AH 1311 to 1323 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 to 450 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Merzifon | 540 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1873/74 (AH 1290)
- Birthplace
- Lovech (Lofça)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- imam
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 5 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
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1887/88 (AH 1305)
- Place
- Bafra
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 400
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 66 officials with entries in Sivas in the same years, Mehmet Eşref Efendi had the 36th highest salary.
- Ahmet Servet Efendi12 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hafız Mehmet Efendi12 shared years; highest salary 560 kuruş
- Kasım Sırrı Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ali Mazhar Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Refik Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 318 officials with the title Posta Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Eşref Efendi had the 118th highest salary.
- Mehmed Zülfikar Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ruantuvan Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdullah Fikri Efendi13 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 Eşref Efendi had the 1,157th highest salary of them.
- Abbas Rüştü Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Abdülbaki Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 675 kuruş
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 720 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 9 officials born in Lovech (Lofça), Mehmet Eşref Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Hasan Fehmi Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Hüseyin Fahri Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 600 kuruş
- ALİ RIZA EFENDİborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Şakir Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Hasan Hüsnü Efendiborn 1870/71 (AH 1287); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 189 officials whose first annual entry is for 1892/93 (AH 1310), Mehmet Eşref Efendi had the 71st highest salary.
- Abdülaziz Hikmet Efendifirst entry in Basra; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdürrahim Haşim Efendifirst entry in Sirkeci; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendifirst entry in Chios (Sakız); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet İzzet Efendifirst entry in Yozgat; highest salary 380 kuruş
- Ahmet Mahmut Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (15)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Posta Memuru | Sinop | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 450 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 450 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 450 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Posta Memuru | Sivas | 450 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Merzifon | 540 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 90_248; 493 |
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 Eşref Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1290 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | lofca | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | tuna | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | imam | 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) | 5 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1305 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1888 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Bafra | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 400 | 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.
- 14 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 Eşref Efendi
- Postal official (Posta Memuru)
- Sivas
- Lovech (Lofça)
- 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)