Est. 1973
The L. Arthur O’Neill, Jr. Educational Fund
The L. Arthur O’Neill, Jr., Educational Fund was established in the spring of 1973 as an eleemosynary corporation under the laws of the State of South Carolina. It was organized for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of an item in the will of the late Mr. O’Neill which read in part as follows:
“All of my estate then and thereafter remaining I give and bequeath and devise unto my said Trustees and their successors in office, in trust: to invest same and keep same invested and as a separate endowment or fund, and to use the income therefrom in deferring the expenses at college or university within the State of South Carolina, of worthy young men and women residing in the City or County of Sumter, who are unable to provide for themselves higher educational facilities, leaving the whole matter in the hands of my trustees to exercise their best judgment to carry out the purpose of this bequest.”
L. Arthur O’Neill, Jr., son of L. Arthur and Annie Bogin O’Neill, was born on September 13, 1890, in Charleston, S.C. His will was made on September 27, 1917, prior to his reporting for World War I duty at the Naval Training Center in late October of that year. He was appointed an ensign in the Navy in November and served until relieved of duty in1918 because of illness. In 191 he was given an honorable discharge for medical reasons. His illness was such nature that he never recovered, spending the remainder of his life in Naval and Veterans’ Hospitals until his death on May 25, 1968.
Mr. O’Neill’s holdings at the time of his death consisted of a number of store buildings on South Main Street in Sumter, additional property in Charleston, stocks, bonds, and other investments. Much of this he inherited through his mother and his Sumter relatives. His mother was a sister of Ella Bogin Tuomey, wife of Timothy Tuomey, who founded Tuomey Hospital, and sister of the wife of Neill O’Donnell, a prominent business man who was for years a trustee of the Sumter City Schools. The income from the holdings which were turned over to the L. Arthur O’Neill, Jr., Educational Fund is used by the corporation for making loans to students.
The corporation is managed by a Board of Trustees made up of seven members, one of whom is always the Judge of Probate of Sumter County. Of the remaining six members on the original Board of Trustees, two were selected by the Board of Trustees of Sumter School District Number Seventeen, one by School District Number Two, two by the Boards of the four Private schools in the county, and one by the Sumter County Ministerial Association. The Board is now self-perpetuating, members of being selected for the interest and expertise they can bring to the overall management of corporation charged with the responsibility of making loans available to worthy young people who want to attend college or university in the state. Bylaws adopted by the Board govern all activities. Management of financial matters is currently in the hands of the Trust Department of a local bank.
Members of the Board of Trustees are known to school personnel who handle application forms and may be called on at any time for information concerning the Fund.