Born in Buenos Aires to Rufina and Fermín Rodríguez, he inherited a ranch and managed the estate until 1806. He then took part in the resistance to the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, during the Napoleonic Wars and later played an important role in the events of the May Revolution of 1810. Upon the establishment of the First Junta which resulted, he was sent to the province of Entre Ríos to support the activities of Manuel Belgrano in the Paraguay campaign. He married Manuela Carrasco in 1810, and they had 14 children.