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Yes, that is pretty much the definition of "wishful thinking." With no evidence that something actually happened other than the possibility existing that it might have, deciding that it did in fact happen. That's wishful thinking.
But why isn't it enough that they died on the same the day? Why is it necessary to add something to the story to make it "better?" There is no later corroboration that John Adams said "Thomas Jefferson survives." He wasn't very lucid in his final days and may just as well have been saying "I just had the strangest dream of Thomas Jefferson riding a flying donkey while bitching about the Alien and Sedition Act."
I'd put it in the realm of possibility. The people who made claims as to what he said weren't anywhere near the man when he supposedly said them and Louisa Smith (the only person in the room with him) never made any claims on the matter beyond that he said "Thomas Jefferson."
Since I'm interested in this stuff (as my original post indicates I have some interest in dead presidents) if you know where I could find information about this correspondence between Jefferson on the topic of the 50th anniversary I'd be most grateful. I've never heard that before and the book I've read most directly focused on the topic (American Jubilee by Andrew Burstein, about the mythology surrouding the Founding Fathers) doesn't, so far as I recall, mention it either.
I expect you'll outlive me by decades, Steve, so if you do utter those as your last words it'll mean your final moments also weren't lucid.
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