The Waldstromer (also called Strohmeyer, Stromeir, Stromair or Stromeyr) were first mentioned in a document around 1230 and probably came from a Staufer imperial ministerial family, the Ramungen von Kammerstein-Reichenbach-Schwabach. They were closely related to the Stromer von Reichenbach; it is unclear whether the two families came from a line.
The Waldstromer received, as successors of the Reichsbutigler, the imperial fief over the Lorenzer Reichswald, probably as early as the beginning of the 13th century, and held the office of imperial forest master there were renamed by the Stromer to Waldstromer because of the office they were given.
Due to its size, the imperial forest master's office was divided between two families at the latest in 1230/40.[1] The Waldstromer retained the office named after them and were in possession of almost all forest court functions, including the Zeidelgericht based in Feucht. The Koler hierarchically below them received the forest master's office as a fief and adopted their official designation as the family name Koler called forest master.
The Waldstromer, Koler and their hereditary foresters severely damaged the forest by granting excessive usage rights for glass furnaces, iron smelting and charcoal burning in the 13th and 14th centuries. Since it was of central importance for the imperial city of Nuremberg as a supplier of raw materials, the Inner Council tried to take over the forest. In 1396 the Waldstromers sold their fiefdom to the city of Nuremberg, after the latter had already been able to acquire the forester's office from the Kolers in 1372. The council maintained the dichotomy until 1440 and awarded the forest streamer office to a chief forester and the forester's office to a sub-forester.
At that time, the Waldstromers still kept their properties in Reichelsdorf, Eibach and Gostenhof.
In contrast to the Stromer and Koler, they were not co-opted into the patriciate until 1729 and were allowed to send members to the inner council. With Christoph Wilhelm Waldstromer, they provided Nuremberg's last mayor. Enrolled in the Bavarian nobility in 1813 as nobles, the Waldstromers died out in 1844.
Source: Wikipedia