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 reads in part as follows:
"All of my estate then and thereafter remaining / 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."
The L. Arthur O'Neill, Jr. Educational Fund
History
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 in 1918 because of illness. In 1919 he was given an honorable discharge for medical reasons. His illness was of such a 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 a 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'Neil, 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 members selected for their interest and expertise.
Board of Trustees
Policy Statement
The L. Arthur O'Neill, Jr., Educational Fund is a fund from which money is disbursed in the form of loans to worthy young men and women residing in the City or County of Sumter for the purpose of helping them meet the expenses of attending South Carolina colleges or universities.
The terms of the loan and its repayment are explicitly stated in the note which the student and his guarantors, usually parents or guardians, must sign upon receipt of a loan.