The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania brought a case against William Ravenel, the executor of Eliza Kohne's estate. The dispute was over whether or not the state had the right to tax certain real property that belonged to Kohne at her death. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ravenel and held that under Pennsylvania law, only personal property could be taxed by the state upon an individual’s death. This decision established important precedent for future cases involving taxation on inherited assets in states with similar laws as those found in Pennsylvania.

In the dissenting opinion of this case, Justice Grier argued that Eliza Kohne's will was not valid because it did not meet the requirements for a valid will under Pennsylvania law. He noted that there were no witnesses to her signature and she had failed to sign in the presence of two or more credible witnesses as required by statute. Furthermore, he argued that even if Eliza had signed in front of two or more credible witnesses, her signature would still be invalid since they were all related to each other and therefore could not serve as independent attesting parties. Therefore, Justice Grier concluded that Eliza's will should be declared void due to its failure to comply with state law regarding wills.