An apothecary in the 1840s would have similar responsibilities as modern day doctors since the apothecary was a precursors to the doctor of today. Apothecaries learned their trade by apprenticeship, just as many other practitioners skilled trades at the time did, to harness and perfect their craft. In the 1800s, an apothecary would diagnose states of health and find medications for these issues.

According to the Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles, and Occupations, a common definition for an apothecary was a “Drug dealer.”  

We learn that “The Society of Apothecaries was founded in 1617. They were the lowest of  the medical profession in status, after physicians (the highest), doctors and surgeons.”

An example of an apothecary in the Diary is John A Harrison, or sometimes known as his alias “Samuel Jones” who was twenty three years old. Before being sentenced to Sing Sing Prison for 5 years for attempted burglary, “he was placed with A G Clark [Druggist] at the corner of Grand and Sullivan streets [illeg.] he remained near two years.” After his release, he was employed as a druggist. Hopper reports that, “John A. Harrison has got employment in the Hospital at the Quarentine on Staten Island– he is a Druggist.” According to Hopper’s records, Harrison later becomes an apothecary in a hospital and eventually on Blackwell's Island for $350 per year.

Sources:

Kipps, Robin. "The Art and Mystery of the Apothecary." Colonial Williamsburg.

Last modified 2006. Accessed March 13, 2019. https://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn06/apothecary.cfm.

Waters, Colin. A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations. Akron: Countryside Books, 1999. Accessed March 11, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central.