He was the son of Lorenzo Berrio Hernández, a trader and educator in Santa Rosa de Osos, and Juliana Rojas.

He studied theology, philosophy, and law in the San Fernando seminary in the city of Santa Fe of Antioquia.

In 1851, he graduated as a lawyer in Bogotá, a city which saw the formation of the Liberal and Conservative parties.

Manuel Murillo Toro, who was a liberal and at the time was also President of the United States of Colombia, accepted this action as fait accompli, setting a precedent for self-determination in the federated states.

There is a plaque acknowledging his role in the railway construction outside the La Quebrada tunnel, which the trains used to pass through.