He was extremely outgoing and affable and preferred the less formal "Andy Fulton", this charismatic charm as well as his tall stature served him well in a career of politics.

After leaving office he continued to stay active in Pittsburgh politics working on both the city and county levels, with the exception of an absence to Colorado to raise horses for a number of years.

Initially reported to have been fatally injured 20 miles outside of Denver, Colorado at the end of October 1888 when his wife shot him "at the cattle ranch of Emma Johnson, a noted sporting woman of Pittsburg" during a domestic dispute which allegedly arose from Fulton's longtime adulterous relationship with Johnson, during which Fulton allegedly fathered two children with Johnson (two girls, born circa 1865 and 1867), Fulton's reputation was restored somewhat when newspapers printed retractions several days later stating that the reports of Fulton's having been shot were false, citing as proof the fact that Fulton's wife had "not been out of the city [Pittsburgh] for some time" and could not, in fact, have traveled to Denver to shoot her husband.

[1] By 1890, Fulton had parted ways with Johnson, and had relocated to New York; however, their alleged relationship continued to make headlines.

In February of that year, Fulton again refuted accounts of his alleged relationship with Johnson.