I have tracked my Richards line back to William Richards, b. 28 Jan 1742 in King and Queen County, VA. That is a burned county and I can't find anything about William's parents or siblings. William was married twice, to Amy Mabry (before 1776) and Nancy Mercer (1799). William later moved to Georgia and then Alabama, where he died 07 Feb. 1836.
Thanks to Y-DNA testing at Family Tree DNA, I know William shares a common ancestor with two other Richards men.
One is Stephen Richards b. 1796 in NC. He resided in Jackson & Calhoun Counties FL and was in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, LA by 1860. He married Sarah Noles 10 Mar 1820.
The other is William Richards b. abt. 1786 in NC or MD and died in Pickens Co., GA 10 Sep 1866. His wife, Dysey Cobb, was born in 1788 and died 1855.
I have met several distant cousins online that are all stuck in the same place. Some say our William from Virginia is in the DAR records as a Captain. Another believes that was a different William Richards. All the books I have found on early families named Richards seem to be based in New England. I'm hopeful that someone in this group might have some creative suggestions on how to get around this brick wall.